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    Internal solitary waves in the Red Sea : an unfolding mystery

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    Date
    2012-06
    Author
    da Silva, Jose C. B.  Concept link
    Magalhaes, Jorge M.  Concept link
    Gerkema, Theo  Concept link
    Maas, Leo R. M.  Concept link
    Metadata
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    Citable URI
    https://hdl.handle.net/1912/5345
    As published
    https://doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2012.45
    DOI
    10.5670/oceanog.2012.45
    Abstract
    The off-shelf region between 16.0° and 16.5°N in the southern Red Sea is identified as a new hotspot for the occurrence of oceanic internal solitary waves. Satellite observations reveal trains of solitons that, surprisingly, appear to propagate from the center of the Red Sea, where it is deepest, toward the continental shelf, but they do not survive as coherent structures over the shelf. These solitons are characterized by coherent crest lengths exceeding 80 km and crest-to-crest distances of more than 2 km, compatible with signatures of large-amplitude solitary waves. Despite the fact that these Red Sea solitons have large amplitudes, they appear to be generated by very weak surface tides. Tidal current velocity is only about 5 cm s–1 over the shelf, much weaker than over other ocean shelves where similar solitary waves have been reported. The appearance of these waves over this particular geographical stretch suggests generation by a locally amplified internal tide on the main pycnocline. We consider three possible explanations for soliton generation in the Red Sea: interfacial tide resonance, local generation by internal tidal beams generated at the shelf breaks, and local generation by internal tidal beams generated at the shelf breaks but first amplified by repeated focusing reflections.
    Description
    Author Posting. © The Oceanography Society, 2012. This article is posted here by permission of The Oceanography Society for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Oceanography 25, no. 2 (2012): 96-107, doi:10.5670/oceanog.2012.45.
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    Suggested Citation
    Oceanography 25, no. 2 (2012): 96-107
     
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