Variational mode decomposition for estimating critical reflected internal wave in stratified fluid

The shear resulting from internal wave reflections can play a crucial role in the transport and resuspension of sediments in oceanic conditions. In particular, when these waves undergo a critical reflection phenomenon, the reflected wave can produce a very large shear. Separating the reflected wave from the incident wave is a technical challenge since the two waves share the same temporal frequency. In our study, we present a series of experimental measurements of internal waves in critical reflection configuration and we analyze them using the 2D-VMD-prox decomposition method. This decomposition method was adapted to specifically decompose waves in an internal wave critical reflection, showing an improvement in its performance with respect to preexisting internal wave decomposition methods. Being able to confidently isolate the reflected wave allowed us to compare our results to a viscous and nonlinear model for critical reflection that correctly describes the dependence of the shear rate produced in the boundary as a function of the experimental parameters. Graphic abstract