Internal Waves near Half Moon Island, South Shetland Islands

Internal waves based on measurements on cruise 87 of the R/V Akademik Mstislav Keldysh in the Bransfield Strait near Half Moon Island and calculations using a numerical model are analyzed. The measurements were carried out on January 25, 2022 over 4 h using a line of temperature and pressure sensors along with CTD probe measurements. Temperature fluctuations based on the data from these sensors showed that the amplitude of internal waves was close to 5 m, sometimes reaching 15 m. Irregular semidiurnal tides predominate in the study area based on the calculation results using the TPXO9 global tidal model. Numerical calculations of the internal wave parameters show that the baroclinic tide generated on a steep slope breaks up into higher frequency waves.

Automated summary

This article analyzes internal waves based on measurements on cruise 87 of the R/V Akademik Mstislav Keldysh in the Bransfield Strait near Half Moon Island and calculations using a numerical model. The measurements were conducted on January 25, 2022 over 4 hours using sensors for temperature and pressure, along with CTD probe measurements. The results show that the amplitude of the internal waves was around 5 meters, reaching up to 15 meters at times, as indicated by temperature fluctuations observed from the sensors. Numerical calculations reveal that the baroclinic tide generated on a steep slope breaks up into higher frequency waves.