Internal gravity waves in stratified horizontally inhomogeneous media

Abstract

The problem of internal gravity waves generation by a point source moving in a stratified medium varying with respect to all spatial variables and time is considered. The fact that the characteristic horizontal scales of density variation may be large as compared with lengths of internal gravity waves makes it possible to solve this problem by means of an approximate method analogous to the WKB method. Therefore, in investigating the problem of internal gravity waves generation by a point source moving in a stratified horizontally inhomogeneous unsteady medium solution for individual mode must be sougth in the form of waves of a special type - Airy and Fresnel waves, where special functions allow to describe internal gravity waves field structure both near and far from individual mode wave front. Then the problem is reduced to the solution of the eikonal equation with some conservation laws perfomed at its characteristics.