Internal Solitary Waves in the White Sea: Hot-Spots, Structure, and Kinematics from Multi-Sensor Observations

Abstract

A detailed picture of internal solitary waves (ISWs) in the White Sea is presented based on an analysis of historical spaceborne synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data and field measurements. The major hot-spot of ISW generation locates in the southwestern (SW) Gorlo Strait (GS), characterized by the presence of strong tides, complex topography, and two distinct fronts. Here, pronounced high-frequency isopycnal depressions of 5–8 m were regularly observed during flood and flood/ebb slackening. Other regions of pronounced ISW activity are found near Solovetsky Islands and in the northwestern Onega Bay. The spatial and kinematic properties of the observed ISWs are linked to water depth, with larger wave trains and higher propagation speeds being observed over the deep regions. Direct estimates of ISW propagation speeds from sequential and single SAR images agree well, while theoretical ones obtained using a two-layer model overestimate the observed values by 2–3 times. This is explained by the effective modulation of ISW propagation speed during the tidal cycle by background currents that are not accounted for in the model. Enhanced values of diapycnic diffusion coefficient in the pycnocline layer were registered near the frontal zones, where intense 14–17 m high ISWs were regularly observed.

Keywords

• internal solitary waves
• hot-spots
• tidal dynamics
• frontal zones
• wave kinematics
• SAR imaging