Author Topic: How Underwater Waves Are Produced  (Read 671 times)

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How Underwater Waves Are Produced
« on: December 18, 2014, 01:18:32 PM »



Underwater waves, also called internal waves, stay beneath the ocean surface, hidden from our view. They raise the ocean’s surface water by inches, which makes them difficult to detect except by satellite. The largest internal waves appear in the Luzon Strait, between Taiwan and the Philippines. They can tower 170 meters (560 ft) and move at only a few centimeters per second across great distances.

Scientists believe we must understand how these waves are generated because they may be an important contributor to global climate change. Internal waves mix the ocean’s less salty, warmer, upper water with its saltier, colder, lower water. They drive large volumes of salt, heat, and nutrients through the ocean. It’s the primary way that heat is transferred from the upper ocean to the lower waters.

Scientists have long wanted to solve the mystery of how the huge internal waves in the Luzon Strait are generated. They’re hard to see in the ocean, although instruments can detect the difference in density between an internal wave and its surrounding water. Nevertheless, scientists decided to conduct their tests in a 15-meter (50 ft) wave tank. The internal waves were generated by pushing cold bottom water over two ridges on the simulated seafloor. It appears that these huge internal waves are produced by the spacing of the ridges in the Luzon Strait, not by one feature on a ridge such as a high mountain.

“It’s an important missing piece of the puzzle in climate modeling,” says Thomas Peacock of MIT. “Right now, global climate models are not able to capture these processes. You get a different answer . . . if you don’t account for these waves.” -- http://listverse.com/

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