Editing Internal wave (section)

==Visualization of internal waves==
An internal wave can readily be observed in the kitchen by slowly tilting back and forth a bottle of salad dressing - the waves exist at the interface between oil and vinegar.

Atmospheric internal waves can be visualized by [[wave cloud]]s: at the wave crests air rises and cools in the relatively lower pressure, which can result in water vapor condensation if the [[relative humidity]] is close to 100%. Clouds that reveal internal waves launched by flow over hills are called [[lenticular clouds]] because of their lens-like appearance. Less dramatically, a train of internal waves can be visualized by rippled cloud patterns described as [[herringbone sky]] or [[mackerel sky]]. The outflow of cold air from a thunderstorm can launch large amplitude internal solitary waves at an [[atmospheric inversion]]. In northern Australia, these result in [[Morning Glory cloud]]s, used by some daredevils to glide along like a surfer riding an ocean wave. Satellites over Australia and elsewhere reveal these waves can span many hundreds of kilometers.
<!-- [[Image:permissions pending...|thumbnail|A train of internal waves propagating over the [[Gulf of Mexico]] after being launched at an [[atmospheric inversion]] by cold-air outflows from a thunderstorm over Texas. The crests of the waves are visualized by clouds.]] -->

Undulations of the oceanic thermocline can be visualized by satellite because the waves increase the surface roughness where the horizontal flow converges, and this increases the scattering of sunlight (as in the image at the top of this page showing of waves generated by tidal flow through the [[Strait of Gibraltar]]).