Solitary waves impinging on an isolated tropical reef: Arrival patterns and wave transformation under shoaling
Published in Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 2022
Recommended citation: Ramp, S. R., Yang, Y.-J., Jan, S., Chang, M.-H., Davis, K. A., Sinnett, G., et al. (2022). Solitary waves impinging on an isolated tropical reef: Arrival patterns and wave transformation under shoaling. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 127, e2021JC017781. https://doi.org/10.1029/2021JC017781. https://doi.org/10.1029/2021JC017781
Key results: 1) Shoaling nonlinear internal solitary waves were observed over three fortnights using moorings and an optical cable from 2000 m depth to the top of Dongsha Reef in the South China Sea. 2) Packet formation was common from the 500 to 300 m isobaths but almost all waves broke by the time they reached 100 m depth and subsequently presented a turbulent, transformed wave runup environment. 3) Possible outcomes are classified according to the wave type, incident wave amplitude, propagation direction, and ambient stratification.