Internal Gravity Waves

The study of internal gravity waves provides many challenges: they move along interfaces as well as in fully three-dimensional space, at relatively fast temporal and small spatial scales, making them difficult to observe and resolve in weather and climate models. Solving the equations describing their evolution poses various mathematical challenges associated with singular boundary value problems and large amplitude dynamics. This book provides the first comprehensive treatment of the theory for small and large amplitude internal gravity waves. Over 120 schematics, numerical simulations and laboratory images illustrate the theory and mathematical techniques, and 130 exercises enable the reader to apply their understanding of the theory. This is an invaluable single resource for academic researchers and graduate students studying the motion of waves within the atmosphere and ocean, and also mathematicians, physicists and engineers interested in the properties of propagating, growing and breaking waves.

• Assumes only intermediate-level knowledge of undergraduate mathematics, making it accessible to a broad audience of researchers and students from different disciplines
• Goes beyond simple linear theory to explore the various mechanisms for instability and breakdown of internal gravity waves
• Mathematical models and their solutions are accompanied by numerous visual representations to help scientists develop an intuition for the physics behind the mathematics