TITLE:

Nonlinear internal waves in the nearshore coastal environment

DATE:

Friday, March 11th, 2016

TIME:

3:30 PM

LOCATION:

GMCS 214

SPEAKER:

Dr. Ryan Walter. Civil and Environmental Engineering, Stanford University

ABSTRACT:

The nearshore coastal environment is generally taken to be one of the most

productive and ecologically important parts of the ocean. The nearshore is also physically

complex, due in large part to the widespread and often irregular occurrence of nonlinear

internal waves that frequently appear more bore-like than wave-like. Indeed, this region of the

ocean can be thought of as the “swash zone” for larger-scale internal wave fields on the

continental shelf. These nearshore internal waves and bores have considerable implications for

the cross-shelf exchange and transport of nutrients, sediments, contaminants, larvae, and other

scalars; turbulent dissipation and diapycnal mixing; and hypoxia development. Despite the

ramifications and a growing body of literature on the subject, many questions still remain with

respect to the evolution, fate, and impact of internal waves and bores in the nearshore coastal

environment. This talk addresses some of these questions using a combination of high-resolution

field measurements and numerical modeling efforts. Challenges and issues related to the

numerical modeling of internal waves and bores in the shallow coastal environment will be

discussed.

HOST:

Dr. Jose Castillo

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