The behaviors of internal solitary waves (ISWs) near the continental shelf of SCS are analyzed. We interpret manifestations of four kinds of ISWs in MODIS images: mode-1 depression wave, bolus, mode-1 elevation wave, and mode-2 convex wave. The geographical distributions of these ISWs are investigated. Bolus and mode-1 elevation wave, the two evolution stages of polarity conversion process of depression ISW, only exists around 22°N, which is in agreement with the sign of mode-1 nonlinear coefficient α_1. The mode-2 convex waves generally follow the southern part of mode-1 depression ISW, where the steep terrain favors their generation. The information of a mode-1 depression ISW, such as amplitude and propagation speed, is also derived from the MODIS image.
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