Decay and return of internal solitary waves with rotation

Abstract

The effect of rotation on the propagation of internal solitary waves is examined. Wave evolution is followed using a new rotating extension of a fully-nonlinear, weakly nonhydrostatic theory for waves in a two-layer system. When a solitary wave solution of the non-rotating equations is used as the initial condition the wave initially decays by radiation of longer inertia-gravity waves. The radiated inertia-gravity wave always steepens, leading to the formation a secondary solitary-like wave. This decay and re-emergence process then repeats. Eventually a nearly localized wavepacket emerges. It consists of a longwave envelope and shorter, faster solitary-like waves that propagate through the envelope. The radiation from this mature state is very weak, leading to a robust, long-lived structure that may contain as much as 50% of the energy in the initial solitary wave. Interacting packets may either pass through one another, or merge to form a longer packet. The packets appear to be modulated, fully-nonlinear versions of the steadily translating quasi-cnoidal waves.