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Internal Waves, Sulu Sea: Image of the Day
by NASA -- Image courtesy Jacques Descloitres, rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nas...
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In the Sulu Sea between the Philippines and Malaysia,
sunglint highlights delicate curving lines of internal
waves moving to the northeast toward Palawan Island. The
sunglint stretches diagonally across the image, turning
the more turbulent South China Sea a diffuse gray and the
calmer waters within the Sulu Archipelago a more vivid
silver. In some spots, the sunglint doesn't show up at
all, and allows the natural vibrant blues and greens of
the water to peek through. The Sulu Sea, like all major
bodies of water, is composed of layers of water with
differing densities. The topmost layer is the least
dense, with each successively deeper layer being denser.
Internal waves move along underwater at the bondary
between layers of different densities. Internal waves are
usually caused by the lower layer being forced against a
shallow obstacle, like a ridge, by tidal action. The
ridge causes a disturbance, which creates a wave in the
water layer, similar to the way that the wind can cause
waves on the water's surface. Unlike normal surface
waves, however, internal waves can stretch tens of
kilometers in length and move throughout the ocean for
several hours. Internal waves alter sea surface currents,
changing the overall ''sea surface roughness.'' Where
these currents converge, the sea surface is more
turbulent, and therefore brighter. Where the currents
diverge, the surface is smoother and darker, creating
zones called ''slicks.'' In this true-color
aqua.nasa.gov/ Aqua Moderate Resolution Imaging
Spectroradiometer (MODIS) image acquired on April 8,
2003, the slicks created by internal waves appear as dark
bands in the center of the image. To learn more about
internal waves, and ways to observe them from space,
visit
daac.gsfc.nasa.gov/CAMPAIGN_DOCS/OCDST/shuttle_ocean
ography_web/oss_70.html Oceanography from the Space
Shuttle: Waves
Date Published: 2011-06-29 20:30:09
Identifier: sulu_amo_2003098
Item Size: 1235974
Media Type: image
# Topics
What -- Aqua
What -- Space Shuttle Orbiter
Where -- Sulu Sea
Where -- Philippines
Where -- Malaysia
Where -- South China Sea
Where -- China
# Collections
nasa
nasaimageofthedaygallery
# Uploaded by
@greg_williamson
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