On Tidal Modulation of the Evolution of Internal Solitary-Like Waves Passing through a Critical Point

Internal solitary-like waves (ISWs) evolve considerably when passing through a critical point separating the deep water where ISWs are waves of depression and shallower water where they are waves of elevation. The location of the critical point is determined by the background current and stratification. In this study, we investigate the influence of tidal currents on the cross-shelf movement of the critical point and elucidate the underlying processes via fully nonlinear numerical simulations. Our simulations reveal phase-locked tidal variations of the critical point, which are mainly attributed to stratification fluctuations that are modulated by the combined effects of cross-shelf barotropic tidal currents and locally generated baroclinic tides. The barotropic tidal currents drive isopycnal displacements as they flow over the slope, and as this occurs baroclinic tides are generated, modulating the stratification and inducing sheared currents. This results in a cross-shelf movement of the critical point, which moves onshore (offshore) when the pycnocline is elevated (depressed) by the flood (ebb) tide. Our idealized numerical simulations for the study region in the South China Sea suggest that the cross-shelf movement of the critical point reaches to O(10) km within a tidal cycle. This distance depends on the strength of tidal currents, stratification, and bathymetry. Because of tidal currents, ISWs of depression may undergo a complex evolution even in a stratification with a shallow pycnocline. For the stratification with a deep pycnocline, the critical point may be at a location deep enough so that its tidal movement becomes insignificant.