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Progressive internal waves on slopes

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 March 2006

Carl Wunsch
Carl Wunsch
Affiliation:
Department of Geology and Geophysics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts
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Abstract

The refraction of progressive internal waves on sloping bottoms is treated for the case of constant Brunt—Väisälä frequency. In two dimensions simple, explicit expressions for the changing wavelengths and amplitudes are found. For small slopes, the solutions reduce to simple propagating waves at infinity.

The singularity along a characteristic is shown to be removable, though the solutions are now inhomogeneous waves. The viscous boundary layers of the wedge geometry are briefly considered with the inviscid solutions remaining as interior solutions.

A theory valid for small slopes is obtained for three-dimensional waves. The waves are refracted in the usual manner, turning parallel to the beach in shallow water.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Fluid Mechanics , Volume 35 , Issue 1 , 16 January 1969 , pp. 131 - 144
Copyright
© 1969 Cambridge University Press

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