An Experimental Investigation of Interfacial Waves Generated by Low Frequency Internal Waves

In the density transition layer between salt and fresh water high frequency interfacial waves can be generated by the shear stresses created by finite amplitude internal waves at this interface. The conditions under which these waves occur are experimentally investigated in this thesis. Instantaneous Richardson number profiles at the crests and troughs of the finite amplitude internal waves were measured. The low frequency waves were mechanically generated by a hydraulically driven horizontal diaphragm. The experiments were performed in an internal wave facility with a test section eighty feet long, four feet high and two feed wide. (Author)