[1] Residual currents due to internal wave breaking on a uniform slope were investigated in a two-layer system using laboratory experiments and numerical computations for different layer configurations. Internal wave-induced currents over a slope were measured in an experimental tank using PIV and also reproduced by a hydrodynamic model to quantify the detailed velocity field. The present results reveal that the critical level derived from the KdV theorem is a useful parameter for classifying the dynamics of internal waves breaking over a slope. As the horizontal distance from the critical level point to the internal wave breaking point increases, internal waves break more dynamically over the slope. Consequently, residual currents are enhanced near the breaking point. These findings increase our capacity to understand flux paths of biological and chemical substances in the stratified coastal ocean.Citation: Nakayama, K., T. Shintani, K. Kokubo, T. Kakinuma, Y. Maruya, K. Komai, and T. Okada (2012), Residual currents over a uniform slope due to breaking of internal waves in a two-layer system,
Abstract:This study describes the projection of sudden recovery from hypoxia in Tokyo Bay. Three different horizontal resolution of the Meteorological Research Institute Atmospheric General Circulation models (with a 20-km mesh resolution), and eight Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 3 (CMIP3 models) outputs were applied to project the occurrence of strong negative (south-west) winds, which enhance rapid recovery from hypoxia in the bay. South-west wind energy, KEw, was successfully reproduced in all models by using bias correction based on a cumulative distribution function from the present day (1980)(1981)(1982)(1983)(1984)(1985)(1986)(1987)(1988)(1989)(1990)(1991)(1992)(1993)(1994)(1995)(1996)(1997)(1998). The MRI-AGCM3.1S with a 20-km mesh resolution suggested an increase in the number of days with the square of southwesterly winds > 100 m 2 s À2 , but the other 10 models showed no significant difference in the future. As a result, it appears likely that recovery from hypoxia will not occur more frequently in the future if we assume that the other meteorological and hydrological conditions remain constant.
When external force, such as wind, is given in a two-layer system, internal waves are induced with a larger amplitude compared to surface waves. In general, when the internal Rossby radius is smaller than the spatial scale of an enclosed bay or lakes, internal Kelvin waves occur in a two-layer system easily. Then, the internal Kelvin waves progress over a uniform slope, the different type of internal wave breaking is expected to occur due to the Coriolis effect. Therefore, this study aims to clarify the influence of the Coriolis effect on the breaking of internal Kelvin waves by using laboratory experiments and numerical analysis. As a result, residual horizontal circulation is found to appear around the density interface.
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