Experimental study on the variation of optical remote sensing imaging characteristics of internal solitary waves with wind speed

Optical remote sensing has been widely used to study internal solitary waves (ISWs). Wind speed has an important effect on ISW imaging of optical remote sensing. The light and dark bands of ISWs cannot be observed by optical remote sensing when the wind is too strong. The relationship between the characteristics of ISWs bands in optical remote sensing images and the wind speed is still unclear. The influence of wind speeds on the characteristics of the ISWs bands is investigated based on the physical simulation experiments with the wind speeds of 1.6, 3.1, 3.5, 3.8, and 3.9 m/s. The experimental results show that when the wind speed is 3.9 m/s, the ISWs bands cannot be observed in optical remote sensing images with the stratification of h1:h2=7:58, ρ1:ρ2=1:1.04. When the wind speeds are 3.1, 3.5, and 3.8 m/s, which is lower than 3.9 m/s, the ISWs bands can be obtained in the simulated optical remote sensing image. The location of the band’s dark and light extremum and the band’s peak-to-peak spacing are almost not affected by wind speed. More-significant wind speeds can cause a greater gray difference of the light-dark bands. This provided a scientific basis for further understanding of ISW optical remote sensing imaging.