Infragravity waves with internal wave characteristics in the south of the Bohai Sea of China

The measurements by using ADCP (500 KH) and CTD were made during August 2000 in the south (37°55'N, 120°25'E) of the Bohai Sea, where the water depth was about 16.5m. The data of horizontal velocity with sampling interval of 2 min in 7 layers were obtained. The power spec-trum analysis of these data indicates that there are very energetic infragrvity waves with a period of about 6 min. The coherence spetrum analysis and the analysis of temporal variation of shear show that these infragravity waves are mainly the free wave model (properties of edge waves), in the meantimethey possess some characteristics of internal waves, which are likely due to the distinctive marine environment in this area. It is speculated on that the instability processes (chiefly shear instability) of sheared stratified tidal flow owing to the effect of sea-floor slope in the coastal area might be the main mechanism generating these infragravity waves.