Internal Wave Generation in Tropical Upwelling Regions: the Angolan and Peruvian Shelves

The Angolan and Peruvian shelves are located in upwelling regions along the eastern boundaries of the tropical Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. They are sites of important fisheries supported by high productivity which is driven by fluxes of nutrients from deep to near surface water along the coast. Mixing associated with internal waves is believed to play a role in this process. Recent field observations have shown the presence of an active internal wave field that includes internal solitary waves. In this talk results of high-resolution two-dimensional simulations of internal wave generation by tide-topography interactions on the Angolan and Peruvian shelves are presented. The simulations show the generation of internal wave beams at near-critical slopes and the generation of high-frequency internal solitary waves. The high-frequency IW spectrum is enhanced when small scale bathymetric ripples are included. Wave generation during winter and summer stratifications will be compared.