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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Mar. Sci.
Sec. Physical Oceanography
Volume 11 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fmars.2024.1510119

Experimental investigation on the second-mode internal solitary wave in continuous pycnocline and the applicability of weakly nonlinear theoretical models

Provisionally accepted
Shaodong Wang Shaodong Wang 1Hui Du Hui Du 1*Gang Wei Gang Wei 1Zhentao Chen Zhentao Chen 1Jianqiao Shi Jianqiao Shi 2Zhenyang Lan Zhenyang Lan 3
  • 1 National University of Defense Technology, Changsha, China
  • 2 Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China
  • 3 Changchun University of Technology, Changchun, Jilin Province, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    The second-mode internal solitary waves (ISWs) in continuous stratification are physically simulated in a laboratory stratified fluid flume. Meanwhile, the second-mode ISWs and their induced flow field in the same stratification environment are solved based on the eigenvalue problem of the T-G equation (Taylor-Goldstein), combined with the weakly nonlinear ISW theoretical models. The experimental and theoretical results show that the symmetry of the second-mode ISW wave-flow field can be improved as the thickness ratio of the upper fluid layer and lower one approaches 1. The ISW speed, horizontal and vertical velocity range values in the continuous pycnocline are positively correlated with the changing ISW amplitude, while only the wavelength is negatively correlated with the ISW amplitude. The calculated wave-flow fields of the second-mode ISWs by KdV and eKdV models in the cases of large amplitude are more consistent with the experimental results than those in the cases of small amplitude. The two theoretical models used to describe second-mode ISWs can be significantly improved when the thickness ratio of the upper fluid layer and lower one approaches 1. In this case, the eKdV model is more applicable than the KdV model.

    Keywords: Continuous stratification environment, physical experiment, Second-mode internal solitary wave, Wave-flow structure, Applicability of weakly nonlinear theoretical models

    Received: 12 Oct 2024; Accepted: 16 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Wang, Du, Wei, Chen, Shi and Lan. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Hui Du, National University of Defense Technology, Changsha, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.