2. Internal Waves:
Summary and conclusions

In this lesson you should have gained a basic understanding of internal waves and learnt about the established techniques for interpreting internal wave signatures.

Using Synthetic Aperture Radar images you should be able to recognise internal wave signatures in ENVISAT ASAR and ERS SAR data and use this to make simple estimates of internal wave characteristics, such as average internal packet speed, crest length and wavelength.

You should now understand some of the mechanisms by which IWs modify surface ripples and thus the sea surface roughness as observed in SAR images, including the aggregation of surfactant films due to the surface currents produced by internal waves. Using this knowlage you should be able to distinguish between internal solitary waves of elevation and depression.