Similarly to surface waves, internal waves change as they approach the shore. As the ratio of wave amplitude to water depth becomes such that the wave “feels the bottom,” water at the base of the wave slows down due to friction with the sea floor. This causes the wave to become asymmetrical and the face of the wave to steepen, and finally the wave will break, propagating forward as an internal bore. Internal waves are often formed as tides pass over a shelf break. The largest of these waves are generated during springtides and those of sufficient magnitude break and progress across the shelf as bores. These bores are evidenced by rapid, step-like changes in temperature and salinity with depth, the abrupt onset of upslope flows near the bottom and packets of high frequency internal waves following the fronts of the bores.
The arrival of cool, formerly deep water associated with internal bores into warm, shallower waters corresponds with drastic increases in phytoplankton and zooplankton concentrations and changes in plankter species abundances. Additionally, while both surface waters and those at depth tend to have relatively low primary productivity, thermoclines are often associated with a chlorophyll maximum layer. These layers in turn attract large aggregations of mobile zooplankton that internal bores subsequently push inshore. Many taxa can be almost absent in warm surface waters, yet plentiful in these internal bores.