Nonlinear Processes in Geophysics (Nov 2024)

A robust numerical method for the generation and propagation of periodic finite-amplitude internal waves in natural waters using high-accuracy simulations

  • P. Lloret,
  • P. J. Diamessis,
  • M. Stastna,
  • G. N. Thomsen

DOI
https://doi.org/10.5194/npg-31-515-2024
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 31
pp. 515 – 533

Abstract

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The design and implementation of boundary conditions for the robust generation and simulation of periodic finite-amplitude internal waves is examined in a quasi two-layer continuous stratification using a spectral-element-method-based incompressible flow solver. The commonly used Eulerian approach develops spurious, and potentially catastrophic small-scale numerical features near the wave-generating boundary in a non-linear stratification when the parameter A/(δc) is sufficiently larger than unity; A and δ are measures of the maximum wave-induced vertical velocity and pycnocline thickness, respectively, and c is the linear wave propagation speed. To this end, an Euler–Lagrange approach is developed and implemented to generate robust high-amplitude periodic deep-water internal waves. Central to this approach is to take into account the wave-induced (isopycnal) displacement of the pycnocline in both the vertical and (effectively) upstream directions. With amplitudes not restricted by the limits of linear theory, the Euler–Lagrange-generated waves maintain their structural integrity as they propagate away from the source. The advantages of the high-accuracy numerical method, whose minimal numerical dissipation cannot damp the above near-source spurious numerical features of the purely Eulerian case, can still be preserved and leveraged further along the wave propagation path through the robust reproduction of the non-linear adjustments of the waveform. The near- and far-source robustness of the optimized Euler–Lagrange approach is demonstrated for finite-amplitude waves in a sharp quasi two-layer continuous stratification representative of seasonally stratified lakes. The findings of this study provide an enabling framework for two-dimensional simulations of internal swash zones driven by well-developed non-linear internal waves and, ultimately, the accompanying turbulence-resolving three-dimensional simulations.