  In this paper, we present the first laboratory experiments that show the
generation of internal solitary waves by the impingement of a
quasi-two-dimensional internal wave beam on a pycnocline. These experiments
were inspired by observations of internal solitary waves in the deep ocean from
synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery, where this so-called mechanism of
'local generation' was argued to be at work, here in the form of internal tidal
beams hitting the thermocline. Nonlinear processes involved here are found to
be of two kinds. First, we observe the generation of a mean flow and higher
harmonics at the location where the principal beam reflects from the surface
and pycnocline; their characteristics are examined using particle image
velocimetry (PIV) measurements. Second, we observe internal solitary waves that
appear in the pycnocline, detected with ultrasonic probes; they are further
characterized by a bulge in the frequency spectrum, distinct from the higher
harmonics. Finally, the relevance of our results for understanding ocean
observations is discussed.
