We are thankful to be welcome on these lands in friendship. The lands we are situated on are covered by the Williams Treaties and are the traditional territory of the Mississaugas, a branch of the greater Anishinaabeg Nation, including Algonquin, Ojibway, Odawa and Pottawatomi. These lands remain home to many Indigenous nations and peoples.

We acknowledge this land out of respect for the Indigenous nations who have cared for Turtle Island, also called North America, from before the arrival of settler peoples until this day. Most importantly, we acknowledge that the history of these lands has been tainted by poor treatment and a lack of friendship with the First Nations who call them home.

This history is something we are all affected by because we are all treaty people in Canada. We all have a shared history to reflect on, and each of us is affected by this history in different ways. Our past defines our present, but if we move forward as friends and allies, then it does not have to define our future.

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January 13, 2016

Speaker: Kevin Lamb, University of Waterloo
Title: Internal Waves in the Ocean
Abstract: Internal gravity waves are a ubiquitous phenomena in density stratified fluids where gravitational restoring forces act on vertically displaced fluids. They exist throughout the ocean, atmosphere and stratified lakes. In the ocean a special form of these waves, called internal solitary waves, are commonly observed on the continental shelf.

Internal waves are an important oceanic phenomenon for a number of reasons. Nonlinear interactions among internal waves are an important mechanism for cascading energy from large scales where it is injected to small scales where it is dissipated and mixing occurs. Because of this they play a role in driving large-scale ocean circulation with implications for climate. Internal solitary waves can be highly energetic, with amplitudes close to 200 metres in extreme cases. They can re-suspend sediments, transport fluid, cause mixing in the interior of the water column via flow instabilities and affect sound propagation. In some locations large currents associated with these waves are a concern for the offshore oil industry.

In this talk I will give an overview of internal waves in the ocean, focusing primarily on the life cycle of internal solitary waves using observations, theory and modelling.