Large-amplitude internal Kelvin waves trapped off Split (Middle Adriatic Sea)

The paper documents the occurrence of long-period internal Kelvin waves in Split Channel in spring 2002. The analyses were performed on thermohaline and current data measured at three moorings and one hydrographic section. The internal oscillation had a period of 5–6 days, being larger just after the generation which was probably excited by the alongshore Sirocco wind. The recorded current amplitude was up to 0.3 ms 1 in the surface layer, while the observed pycnocline displacement was 10–15 m. The oscillation was reproduced by one-dimensional two-layered model of a channel, imposing nodal lines at its entrances. Cross-shore properties of the oscillation, such as observed offshore decrease in pycnocline amplitude, are explained by the dynamics of an internal Kelvin wave propagating along channel boundaries, because the internal Rossby radius is smaller than the width of the channel. Conclusively, the observed oscillation probably represents the fundamental mode of internal waves trapped in the channel complex off Split.