Giant hidden waves deep under the ocean are powered by two different "engines" depending on what the moon is doing.
Scientists used to think these giant underwater waves formed the same way every time. New experiments reveal that different tides use entirely different physical processes to move water between the Atlantic and Mediterranean, changing how we model global ocean mixing.
Internal hydraulics and solitary waves in a realistic laboratory model of the Gibraltar Strait
SSRN · 6511603
We present the first laboratory investigation achieving realistic simulation of internal solitary waves generated within a stratified, sheared exchange flow with superimposed tides over complex bathymetry in a rotating frame, using the Strait of Gibraltar as a dynamically consistent prototype. The experiments reproduce strongly nonlinear internal solitary waves comparable to field observations and resolve their generation, propagation, and hydraulic controls across the tidal cycle. Results demon