{"id":925,"date":"2019-12-22T16:55:40","date_gmt":"2019-12-23T00:55:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mlml.sjsu.edu\/physoce\/?page_id=925"},"modified":"2019-12-22T16:55:56","modified_gmt":"2019-12-23T00:55:56","slug":"internal-waves-in-monterey-bay","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/mlml.sjsu.edu\/physoce\/internal-waves-in-monterey-bay\/","title":{"rendered":"Internal Waves in Monterey Bay"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\tInternal Waves in Monterey Bay\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\tTidal Energy on the Shelf\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

What is an internal wave?<\/h3>\n
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An internal wave is a type of gravity wave that propagates underneath the surface of the ocean, between stratified layers of water.\u00a0 A stratified layer is when lower density water is stacked above a higher density water in the water column.\u00a0 Often, stratification is driven by temperature, where warmer temperature water is closer to the surface than cooler temperature water.<\/p>\n

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Image: Internal wave formation at the interface of two density layers.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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How are internal waves generated?<\/h3>\n
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Internal waves are generated when water moving in a layer meets an obstacle, like a ridge. This will cause a disturbance, creating a wave in the water1<\/sup>.\u00a0 Due to the submarine canyon, Monterey Bay has a complex internal wave field.\u00a0 The dominant observed waves in Monterey Bay have been internal tidal bores2<\/sup>.\u00a0 These bores, driven by the sun, moon, and earth's rotation, can be observed propagating up the canyon and onto the shelf\u00a0 by observing fluctuations in water temperature.\u00a0 Changes in nutrients are also observed at tidal frequencies as internal waves travel up and down the canyon, interacting with the nearshore shelf.\u00a0 Internal waves can also be observed with visible satellite imagery.\u00a0 In areas of bright sunlight, faint ripples of internal waves below the oceans surface can be detected by satellite imagers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

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Advanced Land Imager Capture over Monterey Bay. Credit: NASA Earth Observatory<\/h3><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
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Moss Landing Marine Labs Seawater intake location near the head of the canyon<\/h3><\/div><\/div><\/div>

Monitoring Techniques<\/h3>\n
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The topography of Monterey Bay Submarine Canyon makes it a unique place for studying internal waves.\u00a0 Even though submarine canyons are prevalent across the globe, the dynamics are poorly understood.\u00a0 Submarine canyons are considered hotspots for internal wave activity.\u00a0 There is a rich history of studying the intricacies of these energetic, high-frequency events using a variety of oceanographic monitoring techniques.\u00a0 These techniques use instruments that include moored Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers (ADCPs), Conductivity, Temperature, and Depth (CTD) casts, and Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) deployments.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

Explore Data<\/h3>\n
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