Second-mode nonlinear internal waves over a sloping bottom

The characteristic features of second-mode internal wave propagation over a sloping bottom are investigated by numerical simulation based on the Korteweg-de Vries equation. A comparison of the transformations that occur for first- and second-mode internal solitons in the course of their propagation over a sloping bottom under the hydrological conditions of the South China Sea is carried out. Convex and concave second-mode waves are considered, and the possibility of their transition from the first to the second state in the course of their propagation from the deep ocean to the shelf is demonstrated. This is an analog of the effect of a change in the internal wave polarity, which earlier was known to occur for only first-mode internal waves.