2 EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES OF INTERNAL WAVES GENERATED BY TIDE-TOPOGRAPHY INTERACTION

Two experiments on the generation of internal waves in a two-layer fluid are considered. In the first experimental configuration, it is shown that when a periodic current flows along a coast and past a cape, dispersive waves are generated to the right of the cape (facing onshore), and trains of rank-ordered solitary Kelvin waves are periodically shed along the wall, to the left of the cape. Moreover, there is a mean current generated in both layers, parallel to the wall, to the left of the cape in the lower layer and to the right of the cape in the upper layer. In the second configuration, it is demonstrated that when a periodic current flows over an obstacle, when the rotation is strong, only dispersive waves can be observed far from the obstacle, whereas when the notation is weak, trains of solitary waves can be observed far from it. The hydraulic conditions over the obstacle affect only the wave amplitude.