Semidiurnal Internal Tide Research Articles

Internal tides in a dendritic submarine canyon

Submarine canyons are a common geomorphological feature along continental slopes worldwide and often found to be ‘hotspots’ of internal tide activity. However, the majority of well-studied submarine canyons are simple linear incisions or have meandering morphology; internal tide energetics in branching (dendritic) canyons has not previously been investigated. Here we present a high-resolution (500-m) numerical modelling study of the internal tide within Whittard Canyon, a large, dendritic submarine canyon system that incises the Celtic Sea continental slope. A modified version of the Princeton Ocean Model is used to simulate the M2 (semidiurnal) internal tide in the Whittard Canyon region, verified against a hydrographic dataset collected by an autonomous ocean glider. Much of the internal tide energy entering Whittard Canyon originates to the southeast, along the Celtic Sea shelf break. Internal tide generation also occurs within the canyon itself, but is in part compensated by areas of negative energy conversion. Depth-integrated internal tide energy fluxes exceed 8kWm−1 in the eastern limb of the canyon. The internal tide is topographically steered through the major limbs and along-canyon energy flux is bottom intensified, suggesting topographic focusing. The down canyon extent of bottom intensification closely corresponds to the point that along-canyon slope becomes near-critical to the semidiurnal internal tide. Energetically, the multiple limbs of Whittard Canyon behave differently, some are net sources of internal tide energy whilst others are net sinks. Internal tide energy dissipation also varies between the canyon limbs; bulk dissipation rates are 2.1-7.7×10-8Wkg-1. In addition, the effect of bathymetric resolution on internal tide generation and propagation is investigated by progressively smoothing the model domain. Decreasing the bathymetric resolution reduces internal tide generation and energy dissipation in both Whittard Canyon and the model domain as a whole, however, internal tide energy flux into the canyon is not consistently changed. At least 1.5-km resolution bathymetry is required to adequately resolve the semidiurnal internal tide field in this region of complex topography.

Dynamics and Energetics of Trapped Diurnal Internal Kelvin Waves around a Midlatitude Island

AbstractThe generation of trapped and radiating internal tides around Izu‐Oshima Island located off Sagami Bay, Japan, is investigated using the three-dimensional Stanford Unstructured Nonhydrostatic Terrain-following Adaptive Navier–Stokes Simulator (SUNTANS) that is validated with observations of isotherm displacements in shallow water. The model is forced by barotropic tides, which generate strong baroclinic internal tides in the study region. Model results showed that when diurnal K1 barotropic tides dominate, resonance of a trapped internal Kelvin wave leads to large-amplitude internal tides in shallow waters on the coast. This resonance produces diurnal motions that are much stronger than the semidiurnal motions. The weaker, freely propagating, semidiurnal internal tides are generated on the western side of the island, where the M2 internal tide beam angle matches the topographic slope. The internal wave energy flux due to the diurnal internal tides is much higher than that of the semidiurnal tides in the study region. Although the diurnal internal tide energy is trapped, this study shows that steepening of the Kelvin waves produces high-frequency internal tides that radiate from the island, thus acting as a mechanism to extract energy from the diurnal motions.

Semidiurnal internal tide incoherence in the equatorial Pacific

AbstractThe jets in the equatorial Pacific Ocean of a realistically forced global circulation model with a horizontal resolution of cause a strong loss of phase coherence in semidiurnal internal tides that propagate equatorward from the French Polynesian Islands and Hawaii. This loss of coherence is quantified with a baroclinic energy analysis, in which the semidiurnal‐band terms are separated into coherent, incoherent, and cross terms. For time scales longer than a year, the coherent energy flux approaches zero values at the equator, while the total flux is ∼500 W/m. The time variability of the incoherent energy flux is compared with the internal‐tide travel‐time variability, which is based on along‐beam integrated phase speeds computed with the Taylor‐Goldstein equation. The variability of monthly mean Taylor‐Goldstein phase speeds agrees well with the phase speed variability inferred from steric sea surface height phases extracted with a plane‐wave fit technique. On monthly time scales, the loss of phase coherence in the equatorward beams from the French Polynesian Islands is attributed to the time variability in the vertically sheared background flow associated with the jets and tropical instability waves. On an annual time scale, the effect of stratification variability is of equal or greater importance than the shear variability is to the loss of coherence. In the model simulations, low‐frequency equatorial jets do not noticeably enhance the dissipation of the internal tide, but merely decohere and scatter it.

Partly standing internal tides in a dendritic submarine canyon observed by an ocean glider

An autonomous ocean glider is used to make the first direct measurements of internal tides within Whittard Canyon, a large, dendritic submarine canyon system that incises the Celtic Sea continental slope and a site of high benthic biodiversity. This is the first time a glider has been used for targeted observations of internal tides in a submarine canyon. Vertical isopycnal displacement observations at different stations fit a one-dimensional model of partly standing semidiurnal internal tides – comprised of a major, incident wave propagating up the canyon limbs and a minor wave reflected back down-canyon by steep, supercritical bathymetry near the canyon heads. The up-canyon internal tide energy flux in the primary study limb decreases from 9.2 to 2.0kWm−1 over 28km (a dissipation rate of 1−2.5×10−7Wkg−1), comparable to elevated energy fluxes and internal tide driven mixing measured in other canyon systems. Within Whittard Canyon, enhanced mixing is inferred from collapsed temperature-salinity curves and weakened dissolved oxygen concentration gradients near the canyon heads. It has previously been hypothesised that internal tides impact benthic fauna through elevated near-bottom current velocities and particle resuspension. In support of this, we infer order 20cms−1 near-bottom current velocities in the canyon and observe high concentrations of suspended particulate matter. The glider observations are also used to estimate a 1°C temperature range and 12μmolkg−1 dissolved oxygen concentration range, experienced twice a day by organisms on the canyon walls, due to the presence of internal tides. This study highlights how a well-designed glider mission, incorporating a series of tide-resolving stations at key locations, can be used to understand internal tide dynamics in a region of complex topography, a sampling strategy that is applicable to continental shelves and slopes worldwide.

Using an altimeter‐derived internal tide model to remove tides from in situ data

AbstractInternal waves at tidal frequencies, i.e., the internal tides, are a prominent source of variability in the ocean associated with significant vertical isopycnal displacements and currents. Because the isopycnal displacements are caused by ageostrophic dynamics, they contribute uncertainty to geostrophic transport inferred from vertical profiles in the ocean. Here it is demonstrated that a newly developed model of the main semidiurnal (M2) internal tide derived from satellite altimetry may be used to partially remove the tide from vertical profile data, as measured by the reduction of steric height variance inferred from the profiles. It is further demonstrated that the internal tide model can account for a component of the near‐surface velocity as measured by drogued drifters. These comparisons represent a validation of the internal tide model using independent data and highlight its potential use in removing internal tide signals from in situ observations.

Coastal‐trapped behavior of the diurnal internal tide at O'ahu, Hawai'i

AbstractThe influence of rotation on the structure and propagation of internal tides around O'ahu, Hawai'i is investigated using in situ observations and a tidally forced, primitive equation model with realistic bathymetry and stratification. Particular attention is given to the diurnal internal tide, which largely has been de‐emphasized in previous studies of the region because of the dominance of the semidiurnal internal tide but has been determined by recent studies to be a significant contributor to baroclinic variability. Though both diurnal and semidiurnal internal tides are generated primarily over Ka'ena Ridge to the northwest of the island, the diurnal internal tide propagates clockwise around the island as an imperfectly trapped wave, while the semidiurnal internal tide propagates away from the ridge, unaffected by rotation. The diurnal and semidiurnal internal tides fall into the superinertial frequency range; however, the diurnal frequency apparently is sufficiently close to inertial (∼ 1.4f) for rotation to affect internal tide propagation. The in situ observations support the model finding that diurnal trapping provides the primary source of baroclinic variability along the eastern coast of the island, a stretch of coastline otherwise sheltered from the internal tide energy generated over the Hawaiian Ridge. The findings in Hawai'i suggest that coastal trapping of superinertial internal tides may be a significant source of variability and mixing in other nearshore systems around the world.

Profiling measurement of internal tide in the Bali Strait by reciprocal sound transmission

A reciprocal sound transmission experiment was carried out from 10 to 12 June 2015 along one-crossed-strait line in the Bali Strait with strong tidal current to measure the vertical section structures of range-averaged current and temperature at a 3 minutes interval. The five-layer structures of those parameters in the vertical sections were reconstructed by the regularized of travel time data for 2 rays. The hourly mean current showed a generation of nonlinear internal tide with amplitudes of (1.0—1.5)m/s and period of 6 hours, superimposed on semi-diurnal internal tide with amplitudes, decreasing from the upper to lower layer. The hourly mean temperature was characterized by variation with amplitude of (1.0-1.5) and period of 6 and 8 hours. Current variation revealed an out of phase relation between the upper and lower layer while temperature varied in phase for all five layers. The 2-day average current formed a stratified structure, varying from -0.6 to -0.1m/s and from 23.8 to 28, respectively. The five-layer current and temperature were significantly over the inversion errors. It is suggested that thermal stratification in the Bali strait was caused by intrusion of dense cold water from the Indian Ocean due to coastal upwelling.

Observed tidal currents on the continental shelf off the east coast of India

In the present study, we analysed 9-month long data from Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers (ADCP) deployed on the shelf off the east coast of India to study the characteristics of tidal currents in the region. The ADCPs were deployed at about 100–150m depths off Cuddalore (CD, 12.0°N), Ramayapatnam (RM, 15.0°N), Kakinada (KN, 16.3°N) and South of Gopalpur (SG, 18.6°N). Tidal currents in the region are mainly semidiurnal in nature and dominant constituent is M2. Semimajor axes of barotropic tidal ellipses of M2 is about 1.9 cms−1 in the southernmost ADCP location (off CD) and it is about 4.0 cms−1 in the northernmost ADCP location (off SG), which indicate a northward increase of tidal currents. Baroclinic spectra show high energy at tidal frequencies, which suggests the presence of internal tides on the shelf, particularly in the semidiurnal band. Semidiurnal internal tides of about 8–15 cms−1 are observed at different locations and the magnitude is relatively large on the shelf off SG in the northern part of the shelf, which is primarily due to large barotropic forcing on the north. The semidiurnal internal tides are found to be intensified at the bottom, particularly on the shelf off SG and RM. The computed ratio of slope of internal wave characteristics (c) and topographic slope (γ) indicates that large near-critical regions present surrounding the ADCP locations off SG and RM could be the possible reason of bottom intensification at these two locations. EOF analysis shows that observed semidiurnal internal tides are dominated by the first baroclinic mode, where it accounts for about 70–80% of semidiurnal internal tide variability on the shelf off SG and CD, whereas the contribution of the first mode is relatively small (43–50%) on the shelf off KN and RM. Enhanced small-scale vertical shear is observed at the ADCP locations associated with multimode structure of semidiurnal internal tides. Semidiurnal internal tides show a spring-neap variability on the shelf off SG and CD, whereas they are highly incoherent and intermittent on the shelf off RM and KN. Temporal variability of semidiurnal internal tide magnitude on the shelf is mainly due to the change in stratification, which is explained based on monthly climatology data.

Coherent and incoherent features, seasonal behaviors and spatial variations of internal tides in the northern South China Sea

Abstract Based on observations of the currents at six moorings from March 2010 to April 2011, the coherent and incoherent features, seasonal behaviors and spatial variations of internal tides (ITs) in the northern South China Sea (SCS) are investigated. Measurements of the currents indicate that both diurnal and semidiurnal ITs contain stronger coherent signals than incoherent ones at all moorings. In the measuring range, coherent internal tidal current variances explain ~ 70% of the semidiurnal motion at most moorings. However, the proportion of coherent signals in the diurnal motion shows a non-monotonically decreasing trend with the westward propagation of diurnal ITs. Coherent signals of diurnal and semidiurnal ITs exhibit different seasonal variability at the six moorings: Diurnal ITs are stronger in winter (December to February) and summer (June to August) than in spring (March to May) and autumn (September to November), whereas stronger semidiurnal ITs always appear in spring and autumn. Combining these results with the temporal variation of barotropic tidal currents at the Luzon Strait (LS), it can be concluded that the seasonal variability of ITs at the six moorings are determined by the barotropic tides at the LS. In addition, this study shows that there are asymmetric features of ITs to the east and west of the LS.

Semidiurnal internal tide energy fluxes and their variability in a Global Ocean Model and moored observations

AbstractWe examine the temporal means and variability of the semidiurnal internal tide energy fluxes in 1/25° global simulations of the Hybrid Coordinate Ocean Model (HYCOM) and in a global archive of 79 historical moorings. Low‐frequency flows, a major cause of internal tide variability, have comparable kinetic energies at the mooring sites in model and observations. The computed root‐mean‐square (RMS) variability of the energy flux is large in both model and observations and correlates positively with the time‐averaged flux magnitude. Outside of strong generation regions, the normalized RMS variability (the RMS variability divided by the mean) is nearly independent of the flux magnitudes in the model, and of order 23% or more in both the model and observations. The spatially averaged flux magnitudes in observations and the simulation agree to within a factor of about 1.4 and 2.4 for vertical mode‐1 and mode‐2, respectively. The difference in energy flux computed from the full‐depth model output versus model output subsampled at mooring instrument depths is small. The global historical archive is supplemented with six high‐vertical resolution moorings from the Internal Waves Across the Pacific (IWAP) experiment. The model fluxes agree more closely with the high‐resolution IWAP fluxes than with the historical mooring fluxes. The high variability in internal tide energy fluxes implies that internal tide fluxes computed from short observational records should be regarded as realizations of a highly variable field, not as “means” that are indicative of conditions at the measurement sites over all time.

Internal Tide Convergence and Mixing in a Submarine Canyon

AbstractObservations from Eel Canyon, located on the north coast of California, show that elevated turbulence in the full water column arises from the convergence of remotely generated internal wave energy. The incoming semidiurnal and bottom-trapped diurnal internal tides generate complex interference patterns. The semidiurnal internal tide sets up a partly standing wave within the canyon due to reflection at the canyon head, dissipating all of its energy within the canyon. Dissipation in the near bottom is associated with the diurnal trapped tide, while midwater isopycnal shear and strain is associated with the semidiurnal tide. Dissipation is elevated up to 600 m off the bottom, in contrast to observations over the flat continental shelf where dissipation occurs closer to the topography. Slope canyons are sinks for internal wave energy and may have important influences on the global distribution of tidally driven mixing.

Three-dimensional numerical simulation of internal tides that radiated from the Luzon Strait into the Western Pacific

Recent satellite altimeter observations have indicated that internal tides (ITs) from the Luzon Strait (LS) propagate more than 2 500 km into the Western Pacific (WP). This study used a high-resolution three-dimensional numerical model to reproduce and examine the ITs radiation process. The propagation of diurnal and semidiurnal ITs showed different patterns and variations. Diurnal ITs with lower frequency were affected more by the earth’s rotation and they were bent more toward the equator than semidiurnal ITs. ITs phase speeds are functions of latitude and diurnal ITs showed greater distinctions of phase speeds during propagation. For M2 ITs, the wavelength remained nearly unchanged but the beam width increased significantly during propagation away from the LS. For diurnal ITs (K1 and O1), the wavelength decreased noticeably with latitude, while the beam width varied little during propagation because of blocking by land. Baroclinic energy was also examined as a complement to satellite results reported by Zhao (2014). The magnitude of the generated baroclinic energy flux reduced remarkably within 300 km from the generation site but it then decayed slowly when propagating into abyssal sea. Baroclinic energy of diurnal ITs was found to dissipate at a slower rate than semidiurnal ITs along the main propagation path in the WP.

Exploring the vertical extent of breaking internal wave turbulence above deep-sea topography

A mooring equipped with 200 high-resolution temperature sensors between 6 and 404m above the bottom was moored in 1890m water depth above a steep, about 10° slope of Mount Josephine, NE-Atlantic. The sensors have a precision of less than 0.5mK. They are synchronized via induction every 4h so that the 400m range is measured to within 0.02s, every 1s. Thin cables and elliptical buoyancy assured vertical mooring motions to be smaller than 0.1m under maximum 0.2ms−1 current speeds. The local bottom slope is supercritical for semidiurnal internal tides by a factor of two. Exploring a one-month record in detail, the observations show: 1/semidiurnal tidal dominance in variations of dissipation rate ε, eddy diffusivity Kz and temperature, but no significant correlation between the records of ε and total kinetic energy, 2/a variation with time over four orders of magnitude of 100-m vertically averaged ε, 3/a local minimum in density stratification between 50 and 100m above the bottom, 4/a gradual decrease in daily or longer averaged ε and Kz by one order of magnitude over a vertical distance of 250m, upwards from 150m above the bottom, 5/monthly mean values of <[ε]>=2±0.5×10−7m2s−3, <[Kz]>=8±3×10−3m2s−1 averaged over the lower 150m above the bottom.

Long-range propagation and associated variability of internal tides in the South China Sea

The variability of internal tides during their generation and long-range propagation in the South China Sea (SCS) is investigated by driving a high-resolution numerical model. The present study clarifies the notably different processes of generation, propagation and dissipation between diurnal and semidiurnal internal tides. Internal tides in the SCS originate from multiple source sites, among which the Luzon Strait is dominant, and contributes approximately 90% and 74% of the baroclinic energy for M2 and K1, respectively. To the west of the Luzon Strait, local generation of K1 internal tides inside the SCS is more energetic than the M2 tides. Diurnal and semidiurnal internal tides from the Luzon Strait radiate into the SCS in a north-south asymmetry but with different patterns because of the complex two-ridge system. The tidal beams can travel across the deep basin and finally arrive at the Vietnam coast and Nansha Island more than 1000-1500 km away. During propagation, M2 internal tides maintain a southwestward direction, whereas K1 exhibit complicated wave fields because of the superposition of waves from local sources and island scattering effects. After significant dissipation within the Luzon Strait, the remaining energy travels into the SCS and reduces by more than 90% over a distance of ∼1000 km. Inside the SCS, the K1 internal tides with long crests and flat beam angles are more influenced by seafloor topographical features and thus undergo apparent dissipation along the entire path, whereas the prominent dissipation of M2 internal tides only occurs after their arrival at Zhongsha Island. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

An extreme internal solitary wave event observed in the northern South China Sea.

With characteristics of large amplitude and strong current, internal solitary wave (ISW) is a major hazard to marine engineering and submarine navigation; it also has significant impacts on marine ecosystems and fishery activity. Among the world oceans, ISWs are particular active in the northern South China Sea (SCS). In this spirit, the SCS Internal Wave Experiment has been conducted since March 2010 using subsurface mooring array. Here, we report an extreme ISW captured on 4 December 2013 with a maximum amplitude of 240 m and a peak westward current velocity of 2.55 m/s. To the authors’ best knowledge, this is the strongest ISW of the world oceans on record. Full-depth measurements also revealed notable impacts of the extreme ISW on deep-ocean currents and thermal structures. Concurrent mooring measurements near Batan Island showed that the powerful semidiurnal internal tide generation in the Luzon Strait was likely responsible for the occurrence of the extreme ISW event. Based on the HYCOM data-assimilation product, we speculate that the strong stratification around Batan Island related to the strengthening Kuroshio may have contributed to the formation of the extreme ISW.

Impact of Parameterized Internal Wave Drag on the Semidiurnal Energy Balance in a Global Ocean Circulation Model

AbstractThe effects of a parameterized linear internal wave drag on the semidiurnal barotropic and baroclinic energetics of a realistically forced, three-dimensional global ocean model are analyzed. Although the main purpose of the parameterization is to improve the surface tides, it also influences the internal tides. The relatively coarse resolution of the model of ~8 km only permits the generation and propagation of the first three vertical modes. Hence, this wave drag parameterization represents the energy conversion to and the subsequent breaking of the unresolved high modes. The total tidal energy input and the spatial distribution of the barotropic energy loss agree with the Ocean Topography Experiment (TOPEX)/Poseidon (TPXO) tidal inversion model. The wave drag overestimates the high-mode conversion at ocean ridges as measured against regional high-resolution models. The wave drag also damps the low-mode internal tides as they propagate away from their generation sites. Hence, it can be considered a scattering parameterization, causing more than 50% of the deep-water dissipation of the internal tides. In the near field, most of the baroclinic dissipation is attributed to viscous and numerical dissipation. The far-field decay of the simulated internal tides is in agreement with satellite altimetry and falls within the broad range of Argo-inferred dissipation rates. In the simulation, about 12% of the semidiurnal internal tide energy generated in deep water reaches the continental margins.

Temporal variations in internal tide multimodal structure on the continental shelf, South China Sea

Temporal variations in multimodal structures of diurnal (D 1) and semidiurnal (D 2) internal tides were investigated on the continental slope of the Dongsha Plateau, based on 2-month moored acoustic Doppler current profiler observations. Harmonic analysis indicated that the D 1 components (K 1 and O 1) dominated the internal tide field. The vertical structure of the K 1 constituent presented a first-mode structure while the M 2 constituent seemed to exhibit a high-mode structure. Amplitude spectra analysis of the current data revealed differences in baroclinic current amplitudes between different water depths. Temporal variations in modal structures ware analyzed, based on the D 1 and D 2 baroclinic tides extracted from the baroclinic velocity field with band-pass filters. Analysis showed that the magnitude of the D 1 internal tide current was much larger than the D 2 current, and temporal variations in the modal structure of the D 1 internal tide occurred on an approximately fortnightly cycle. The EOF analyses revealed temporal transformation of multimodal structures for D 1 and D 2 internal tides. The enhancement of the D 1 internal tide was mainly due to the superposition of K 1 and O 1, according to the temporal variation of coherent kinetic energy.

Second-mode semidiurnal internal tides on the continental slope of the southwestern East/Japan Sea

ABSTRACT Lee, H.Y.; Park, J.H.; Jeon, C.; Seo, S.; Kim D.G.; Park, Y.G.; Min H.S., and Kim, S.D., 2016. Second-mode semidiurnal internal tides on the continental slope of the southwestern East/Japan Sea. In: Vila-Concejo, A.; Bruce, E.; Kennedy, D.M., and McCarroll, R.J. (eds.), Proceedings of the 14th International Coastal Symposium (Sydney, Australia). Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue, No. 75, pp. 1387 - 1391. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. Energetic second-mode semidiurnal internal tides with a three-layer-like structure were observed from time series of 26-hour-long 2 hourly velocity profiles collected on the continental shelf-slope of the southwestern East/Japan Sea during a spring tidal period in early November 2013. Modal-fitted baroclinic semidiurnal signals using a least-squared method demonstrate that the kinetic energy of second-mode semidiurnal internal tides is comparable to the first-mode ones. In order to understand physical processes affecting the enhanced generation of...

Mid- to Inner-Shelf Coupled ROMS–SWAN Model–Data Comparison of Currents and Temperature: Diurnal and Semidiurnal Variability

AbstractAccurately representing diurnal and semidiurnal internal variability is necessary to investigate inner-shelf to midshelf exchange processes. Here, a coupled Regional Ocean Model System (ROMS)–Simulating Waves Nearshore (SWAN) model is compared to observed diurnal and semidiurnal internal tidal variability on the mid and inner shelf (26–8 m water depth) near San Pedro Bay, California. Modeled mean stratification is about one-half of that observed. Modeled and observed baroclinic velocity rotary spectra are similar in the diurnal and semidiurnal band. Modeled and observed temperature spectra have similar diurnal and semidiurnal band structure, although the modeled is weaker. The observed and modeled diurnal and semidiurnal baroclinic velocity- and temperature-dominant vertical structures are similar and consistent with mode-one internal motions. Both observed and modeled diurnal baroclinic kinetic energy are strongly correlated to diurnal wind forcing and enhanced by subtidal vorticity-induced reduction in the inertial frequency. The mid- and inner-shelf modeled diurnal depth-integrated heat budget is a balance between advective heat flux divergence and temperature time derivative. Temperature–velocity phase indicates progressive semidiurnal internal tide on the midshelf and largely standing internal tide on the inner shelf in both observed and modeled. The ratio of observed to modeled inferred phase speed is consistent with the observed to modeled stratification. The San Pedro Bay modeled semidiurnal internal tide has significant spatial variability, variable incident wave angles, and multiple local generation sites. Overall, the coupled ROMS–SWAN model represents well the complex diurnal and semidiurnal internal variability from the mid to the inner shelf.

Internal bore seasonality and tidal pumping of subthermocline waters at the head of the Monterey submarine canyon

This study utilizes more than a year of observations made in shallow waters (~30m) at the head of the Monterey Submarine Canyon to assess variability in the physical environment and internal bore field. The interaction of the internal tide with the canyon rim results in a semidiurnal tidal period pumping of cold–water masses (subthermocline waters) onto the adjacent shelf (i.e., internal bores). These internal bores are shown to be significantly coherent with the local sea surface height with minimal spatial variability when comparing two sites near the canyon head region. During the summer months, and periods of strong regional wind-driven upwelling and shoaling of the offshore thermocline, the canyon rim sites display elevated semidiurnal temperature variance. This semidiurnal variability reaches its annual minimum during the winter months when the regional upwelling favorable winds subside and the offshore thermocline deepens. Additionally, the observed internal bores show a distinct asymmetry between the leading (gradual cooling with velocities directed onto the shelf) and trailing edges (sharp warming with velocities directed into the canyon). It appears that the semidiurnal internal tide at the canyon head is a first-order control on the delivery of subthermocline waters to the nearshore coastal environment at this location.