Near‐simultaneous observations of intermittent internal waves on the continental shelf from ship and spacecraft

Abstract

Internal waves on the continental shelf off New York have been observed from ship and the ERTS‐1 spacecraft, and positive correlations made between surface and subsurface measurements of temperature, acoustic volume reflectivity, and surface slicks. The spacecraft imagery senses the quasi‐periodic variations in surface optical reflectivity induced by the internal waves. The waves appear to be tidally generated at the shelf edge and occur intermittently in packets, which propagate shoreward and disappear in water near 50‐m depth.