Limiting amplitudes of fully nonlinear interfacial tides and solitons

Abstract. A new two-fluid layer model consisting of forced rotation-modified Boussinesq equations is derived for studying tidally generated fully nonlinear, weakly nonhydrostatic dispersive interfacial waves. This set is a generalization of the Choi–Camassa equations, extended here with forcing terms and Coriolis effects. The forcing is represented by a horizontally oscillating sill, mimicking a barotropic tidal flow over topography. Solitons are generated by a disintegration of the interfacial tide. Because of strong nonlinearity, solitons may attain a limiting table-shaped form, in accordance with soliton theory. In addition, we use a quasi-linear version of the model (i.e. including barotropic advection but linear in the baroclinic fields) to investigate the role of the initial stages of the internal tide prior to its nonlinear disintegration. Numerical solutions reveal that the internal tide then reaches a limiting amplitude under increasing barotropic forcing. In the fully nonlinear regime, numerical experiments suggest that this limiting amplitude in the underlying internal tide extends to the nonlinear case in that internal solitons formed by a disintegration of the internal tide may not reach their table-shaped form with increased forcing, but appear limited well below that state.