Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Resonant Generation of Internal Waves on a Model Continental Slope

2008; American Physical Society; Volume: 100; Issue: 24 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1103/physrevlett.100.244504

1092-0145

Hepeng Zhang, Ben King, Harry L. Swinney,

Ocean Waves and Remote Sensing

We study internal wave generation in a laboratory model of oscillating tidal flow on a continental margin. Waves are found to be generated only in a near-critical region where the slope of the bottom topography matches that of internal waves. Fluid motion with a velocity an order of magnitude larger than that of the forcing occurs within a thin boundary layer above the bottom surface. The resonant wave is unstable because of strong shear; Kelvin-Helmholtz billows precede wave breaking. This work provides a new explanation for the intense boundary flows on continental slopes.