Internal tides in the strait of Denmark

Abstract

Six day temperature records carried out at the three mooring levels revealed isotherm fluctuations in the Denmark Strait sill in July 2018 caused by internal waves. In addition to the field measurements, fluctuations of isopycnals were estimated on the basis of a numerical model. It was shown that the vertical displacements of water particles caused by semidiurnal internal tides are approximately 50 m in the region of the sill crossing the strait. The displacements decrease to 30 m over a distance of 100 km from the sill. The internal waves in the northern part of the strait are more intense than in the southern part because the wave propagates in the opposite direction to the mean current. In the southern part the waves and the current propagate to the south, which increases the wavelength and decreases their amplitudes.