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Observations from a Seaglider, two pressure-sensor-equipped inverted echo sounders (PIESs), and a thermistor chain (T-chain) mooring were used to determine the waveform and timing of internal solitary waves (ISWs) over the continental slope east of Dongsha Atoll. The Korteweg–de Vries (KdV) and Dubreil–Jacotin–Long (DJL) equations supplemented the data from repeated profiling by the glider at a fixed position (depth ∼1017 m) during 19–24 May 2019. The glider-recorded pressure perturbations were used to compute the rarely measured vertical velocity (w) with a static glider flight model. After removing the internal tide–caused vertical velocity, the w of the eight mode-1 ISWs ranged from −0.35 to 0.36 m s−1 with an uncertainty of ±0.005 m s−1 due to turbulent oscillations and measurement error. The horizontal velocity profiles, wave speeds, and amplitudes of the eight ISWs were further derived from the KdV and DJL equations using the glider-observed w and potential density profiles. The mean speed of the corresponding ISW from the PIES deployed at ∼2000 m depth to the T-chain moored at 500 m depth and the 19°C isotherm displacement computed from the T-chain were used to validate the waveform derived from KdV and DJL. The validation suggests that the DJL equation provides reasonably representative wave speed and amplitude for the eight ISWs compared to the KdV equation. Stand-alone glider data provide near-real-time hydrography and vertical velocities for mode-1 ISWs and are useful for characterizing the anatomy of ISWs and validating numerical simulations of these waves. Significance Statement: Internal solitary waves (ISWs), which vertically displace isotherms by approximately 100 m, considerably affect nutrient pumping, turbulent mixing, acoustic propagation, underwater navigation, bedform generation, and engineering structures in the ocean. A complete understanding of their anatomy and dynamics has many applications, such as predicting the timing and position of mode-1 ISWs and evaluating their environmental impacts. To improve our understanding of these waves and validate the two major theories based on the Korteweg–de Vries (KdV) and Dubreil–Jacotin–Long (DJL) equations, the hydrography data collected from stand-alone, real-time profiling of an autonomous underwater vehicle (Seaglider) have proven to be useful in determining the waveform of these transbasin ISWs in deep water. The solutions to the DJL equation show good agreement with the properties of mode-1 ISWs obtained from the rare in situ data, whereas the solutions to the KdV equation underestimate these properties. Seaglider observations also provide in situ data to evaluate the performance of numerical simulations and forecasting of ISWs in the northern South China Sea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Internal gravity waves, the subsurface analogue of the familiar surface gravity waves that break on beaches, are ubiquitous in the ocean. Because of their strong vertical and horizontal currents, and the turbulent mixing caused by their breaking, they affect a panoply of ocean processes, such as the supply of nutrients for photosynthesis, sediment and pollutant transport and acoustic transmission; they also pose hazards for man-made structures in the ocean. Generated primarily by the wind and the tides, internal waves can travel thousands of kilometres from their sources before breaking, making it challenging to observe them and to include them in numerical climate models, which are sensitive to their effects. For over a decade, studies have targeted the South China Sea, where the oceans' most powerful known internal waves are generated in the Luzon Strait and steepen dramatically as they propagate west. Confusion has persisted regarding their mechanism of generation, variability and energy budget, however, owing to the lack of in situ data from the Luzon Strait, where extreme flow conditions make measurements difficult. Here we use new observations and numerical models to (1) show that the waves begin as sinusoidal disturbances rather than arising from sharp hydraulic phenomena, (2) reveal the existence of >200-metre-high breaking internal waves in the region of generation that give rise to turbulence levels >10,000 times that in the open ocean, (3) determine that the Kuroshio western boundary current noticeably refracts the internal wave field emanating from the Luzon Strait, and (4) demonstrate a factor-of-two agreement between modelled and observed energy fluxes, which allows us to produce an observationally supported energy budget of the region. Together, these findings give a cradle-to-grave picture of internal waves on a basin scale, which will support further improvements of their representation in numerical climate predictions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To resolve nonlinear internal wave motions in regional domains, we propose a one-way ocean model nesting framework in which a nonhydrostatic model is nested within a regional model. The nesting scheme produces internal tides that propagate freely into and out of the nonhydrostatic model domain with no reflections while nudging the low-frequency motions. We demonstrate the method with idealized test cases and a field-scale simulation of the South China Sea. The method relies on four parameters, the time scale of low-pass filtering, the time scale of low frequency forcing, the time scale of sponge damping and the width of the sponge damping layer. We present guidelines for selecting these four parameters based on the background stratification. The internal tides from the large-scale model steepen through nonlinear and nonhydrostatic effects and reasonably match observations at a fraction of the computational cost needed with a single uncoupled model. The model critically relies on the background stratification inherited from the large-scale model, which in this case leads to an underpredicted phase speed and amplitude in the nested model result. This highlights the need for large-scale ocean models to incorporate observational stratification data, especially in the ocean interior. • New nesting framework to force internal waves. • Model performs well in idealized and field-scale tests. • Four key parameters required based on background stratification. • Accuracy of wave results critically relies on inherited large-scale stratification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]