Numerical simulations of shoaling internal solitary waves of elevation

We present high-resolution, two-and three-dimensional direct numerical simulations of large amplitude internal solitary waves of elevation on the laboratory scale, shoaling onto and over a small-amplitude shelf. The three-dimensional, mapped coordinate, spectral collocation method used for the simulations allows for accurate modelling of both the shoaling waves and the bottom boundary layer. The shoaling of the waves is characterized by the formation of a quasi-trapped core which undergoes a spatially growing stratified shear instability at its edge and a lobe-cleft instability in its nose. Both of these instabilities develop and three-dimensionalize concurrently, leading to strong bottom shear stress. We explore significant regions of Schmidt and Reynolds number space and demonstrate that the formation of shear instabilities during shoaling is robust and should be readily observable in a number of standard laboratory setups. In the experiments with a corrugated bottom boundary, boundary layer separation is found inside each of the corrugations during shoaling. This more complex boundary layer phenomenology precludes the formation of the lobe-cleft instability almost completely and hence provides a different mechanism for fluid and material exchange across the bottom boundary layer. Our analyses suggest that all of these wave-induced instabilities can lead to enhanced turbulence in the water column and increased shear stress on the bottom boundary. Through the generation and evolution of these instabilities, the shoaling of internal solitary waves of elevation is likely to provide systematic mechanisms for material mixing, cross-boundary layer transport, and sediment resuspension. Published by AIP Publishing.