From internal waves to microscale breakers: towards understanding their role in large-scale processes

湖泊、海洋和大气都是密度分层的流体。在湖泊中，分层现象通常是由于温度的变化造成的，在较轻、较暖的表层沃茨下面是冷而稠密的水。有时，盐的存在可能有助于分层。在海洋中，温度和盐度的变化都很重要。 分层的一个后果是存在内部重力波，这是无处不在的湖泊，海洋和大气的内部。这些波是由作用在垂直位移流体上的重力恢复力驱动的。在湖泊和海洋的表面，可以发现表面水波，这里重力恢复力和表面张力都发挥了作用。表面张力显着改变长度尺度小于几厘米的表面波的性质。

Lakes, the oceans and the atmosphere are all density stratified fluids. In lakes the stratification is most often due to temperature variations, with cold dense water lying beneath lighter, warm surface waters. Sometimes the presence of salts can contribute to the stratification. In the ocean variations in both temperature and salinity are important. One consequence of the stratification is the presence of internal gravity waves which are ubiquitous in the interior of lakes, oceans and the atmosphere. These waves are driven by gravitational restoring forces acting on vertically displaced fluids. At the surface of lakes and oceans, surface water waves are found. Here gravitational restoring forces as well as surface tension forces come in to play. Surface tension significantly modifies the properties of surface waves at length scales less than a few centimeters.