Geophysical characteristics of internal solitary waves near the Strait of Gibraltar in the Mediterranean Sea

This work used the seismic oceanography method to study the structural characteristics of internal solitary waves (ISWs) near the Strait of Gibraltar in the Mediterranean Sea. The ISWs are the first mode decline type, mostly with medium and large amplitudes. The maximum vertical amplitude is up to 74. 5 m. The amplitude increases with depth, and its propagation velocity increases with amplitude. It can be determined that the "true" maximum amplitude position is near the pycnocline. Because of the Doppler-like effect and the angle between the ISWs and the ship, we need to correct the half-height-width parameter obtained from the seismic section to get the true half-height-width parameter. After correction, the maximum half-height-width can reach 1721. 8 m, but there is somewhat different from the theoretical result, which may be related to the development stability of ISWs. As the solitary wave packet continuously moves eastward, the overall wave width becomes larger, and the vertical velocity becomes smaller. In this work, seismic oceanography was applied to the analysis of ISWs in the Mediterranean Sea, which further proves the feasibility of using seismic oceanography to study movement of sea water.