Properties of Short-Period Internal Waves in the Central Part of the Southern Ocean Indo-Oceanic Sector Based on Sentinel-1 Satellite Data

Here we present the results of observations of short-period internal waves (SIWs) and their properties in the Commonwealth Sea and in the deep-water part of the Southern Ocean based on Sentinel-1 A/B satellite data from January to March 2020. The key generation sites and spatiotemporal properties of SIWs were identified. Analysis of 611 radar images allowed to detect 825 surface manifestations (SMs) of SIWs. The SIWs were observed as packets of solitary waves with a mean crest length of 24 km and an average packet width of 11 km. Key regions of internal wave observations, determined by their maximum probability, were recorded in Prydz Bay, over the continental slope and in the deep-water eastern and western parts of the study region. It is shown that active SIW generation occurs not only in the regions of tidal current-topography interactions, but also in regions with high anomalies of geostrophic current velocity, in the vicinity of ice shelves and marginal ice zone boundaries.