Interfacial gravity currents. II. Wave excitation

We examine the response of a two- and three-layer salt-stratified fluid to the collapse of a mixed region intruding along the middle layer. For sufficiently deep middle layers, the intrusion (an interfacial gravity current) excites a double-humped solitary wave appearing in the interfacial layer in front of the intrusion head. When the solitary wave is generated the current stops propagating. Trailing the intrusion are large-amplitude trapped internal waves. We study the effect of middle-layer depth and density difference to determine the conditions under which a solitary wave is generated. We propose that this transition occurs because the intrusion resonantly couples with trapped internal waves for a sufficiently thick interface.