The Cooperative Institute for Climate, Ocean, and Ecosystem Studies

Hey everyone, my name is Will, and I’m a mathematics and marine science major at the University of South Carolina. This summer I worked with Dr. Walter Torres in the University of Washington Applied Physics Laboratory to look at nonlinear internal waves off the Washington coast. Internal waves are very important oceanographic processes because they contribute significantly to transporting and mixing water, which affects how nutrients for marine life are distributed. Our goal was to look at distinguishing different types of internal waves as well as classifying their shapes.

To do this, we used a mooring dataset off the coast to screen for internal wave events in Python. We first applied a temperature displacement metric to these events to find a proxy for the amplitude of the waves. Basically, this means that we subtracted the observed depth for a given temperature from its expected depth in a stable ocean with no waves occurring. After doing this, we applied a well-established weakly nonlinear theory called the extended-Kortwieg de Vries equation, which models internal wave events that take the form of solitons (a type of internal wave). Using this equation and the observed wave height, we determined how well this theory fit the observed waves, which is useful for understanding whether the waves are solitons and gives us clues about how they might have originated.

Overall, I had a great experience this summer with both the project and exploring the Pacific Northwest. I learned a lot about wave theory, and I got great advice from all of the connections I made in APL. I feel that having this opportunity over the summer has been extremely helpful with preparing me as I apply for PhD programs in the fall, both with the content of the research and with the quality of my professional development. I am very grateful to have been admitted to this program, and I would strongly recommend it to any students who have an interest in the CICOES research fields.

Project Introduction

Research Poster