Internal solitary waves in the China seas observed using satellite remote-sensing techniques: a review and perspectives

Internal solitary waves (ISWs) occur ubiquitously in China’s waters: the South China Sea (SCS), the East China Sea (ECS), the Yellow Sea (YS), and the Bohai Sea (BS). ISWs have long attracted much research interest because of their important role in ocean acoustics, offshore engineering, ocean mixing, primary productivity, and submarine navigation. ISWs have sea surface signatures that can be detected by satellite synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and optical sensors. Satellite remote-sensing images provide excellent two-dimensional views of the ISW field. Our understanding of ISWs in the China Seas has been greatly improved using satellite remote-sensing techniques. The primary objectives of this paper are to review the development of remote-sensing techniques in the study of ISWs and to summarize ISW characteristics in the China seas, mainly demonstrated by remote-sensing techniques. In addition, several issues with remote-sensing techniques and interesting research topics are discussed.