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Remote-sensing evidence for the local generation of internal soliton packets in the central Bay of Biscay

Remote-sensing evidence for the local generation of internal soliton packets in the central Bay of Biscay
Remote-sensing evidence for the local generation of internal soliton packets in the central Bay of Biscay
Large-amplitude internal solitary waves (or “solitons”) occurring in packets near the shelf break in the Bay of Biscay are well-documented and understood. The presence of similar features has now also been reported in the central Bay, ?150 km from the nearest shelf break topography. The present paper analyses available remote-sensing synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data from the ERS satellites in this region. By doing so, we are able to provide convincing support for the hypothesis that these waves, instead of having travelled along the thermocline from the shelf break, are instead generated locally in the central Bay by the surfacing of a beam of internal tidal energy originating from the shelf break. This reinforces the results of a previous independent study, while at the same time providing a much more extensive investigation than was then possible. We have also exploited the large swath width (100 km) and high spatial resolution (100 m×100 m) of the SAR to examine for the first time the full surface structure of the internal waves in the central Bay, which are found to have a mean wavelength of 1.35 km, and a mean along-crest “coherence” length of 21.55 km.
internal solitary waves, synthetic aperture radar, bay of biscay (44–48°N, 2–10°W)
0967-0637
915-934
New, A.L.
69c2be8b-c6c2-408f-9612-6980b1a25802
Da Silva, J.C.B.
f0299437-57df-41b7-a0fd-520aa8d0a319
New, A.L.
69c2be8b-c6c2-408f-9612-6980b1a25802
Da Silva, J.C.B.
f0299437-57df-41b7-a0fd-520aa8d0a319

New, A.L. and Da Silva, J.C.B. (2002) Remote-sensing evidence for the local generation of internal soliton packets in the central Bay of Biscay. Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers, 49 (5), 915-934. (doi:10.1016/S0967-0637(01)00082-6).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Large-amplitude internal solitary waves (or “solitons”) occurring in packets near the shelf break in the Bay of Biscay are well-documented and understood. The presence of similar features has now also been reported in the central Bay, ?150 km from the nearest shelf break topography. The present paper analyses available remote-sensing synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data from the ERS satellites in this region. By doing so, we are able to provide convincing support for the hypothesis that these waves, instead of having travelled along the thermocline from the shelf break, are instead generated locally in the central Bay by the surfacing of a beam of internal tidal energy originating from the shelf break. This reinforces the results of a previous independent study, while at the same time providing a much more extensive investigation than was then possible. We have also exploited the large swath width (100 km) and high spatial resolution (100 m×100 m) of the SAR to examine for the first time the full surface structure of the internal waves in the central Bay, which are found to have a mean wavelength of 1.35 km, and a mean along-crest “coherence” length of 21.55 km.

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More information

Published date: May 2002
Keywords: internal solitary waves, synthetic aperture radar, bay of biscay (44–48°N, 2–10°W)

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 6136
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/6136
ISSN: 0967-0637
PURE UUID: 2a882afb-beef-4e95-8fbd-da5f2e2c6ae6

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 29 Jun 2004
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 04:47

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Contributors

Author: A.L. New
Author: J.C.B. Da Silva

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