ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Mar. Sci.
Sec. Coastal Ocean Processes
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmars.2025.1662937
This article is part of the Research TopicAdvanced Monitoring, Modelling, and Analysis of Coastal Environments and EcosystemsView all 36 articles
Interannual Variability of Nonlinear Internal Wave Characteristics in the Pacific Ocean off the Kamchatka Peninsula and the Northern Kuril Islands
Provisionally accepted
Alexey Zimin1*
Egor Svergun1
Ekaterina Sofina1
Dmitry Romanenkov1
Aleksandr Varkentin1
Aleksandr Konik1Oksana Atadzhanova1Aleksei Makhovikov1Irina Vinogradova2- 1Shirshov Institute of Oceanology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
- 2Rossijskij gosudarstvennyj gidrometeorologiceskij universitet, Saint Petersburg, Russia
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In the North Pacific Ocean off the Kamchatka Peninsula, nonlinear internal waves (NLIWs) are still studied insufficiently. The purpose of the study was to establish patterns in the distribution of NLIW characteristics and the reasons for their significant variability. The study used Sentinel-1 radar images from 2015 to 2024, along with data from the FESOM-C tidal model, Landsat 8, Sentinel-2, and estimates of Kamchatka walleye pollock population. In total, 3,895 NLIW events were identified, revealing "hot spots" with high wave activity, mainly east of the Fourth Kuril Strait, on Kamchatka's shelf, and around the Shipunsky Peninsula. NLIW characteristics obtained from satellite observations were supplemented by in-situ measurement near the Shipunsky Peninsula. NLIWs peaked in summer and were least active in winter. The maximum occurrence within а year was linked to the strong subsurface pycnocline, intensified tidal currents, and weak winds. "Hot spots" coincided with areas of strong diurnal tidal currents, suggesting that topographically trapped diurnal internal tide generates many NLIWs. Results also demonstrate NLIW influence on chlorophyll-a distribution and their potential role in supporting feeding base of juvenile walleye pollock, indicating the importance of internal waves in shaping the local ecosystem.
Keywords: internal waves, Sentinel-1, Ocean tides, FESOM-C model, CTD profiling, chlorophyll-a, Fishery resources, northern Pacific Ocean
Received: 09 Jul 2025; Accepted: 09 Sep 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Zimin, Svergun, Sofina, Romanenkov, Varkentin, Konik, Atadzhanova, Makhovikov and Vinogradova. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Alexey Zimin, Shirshov Institute of Oceanology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
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