  We present the first laboratory experimental results concerning the
scattering of a low-mode internal tide by a gaussian topography. Experiments
performed at the Coriolis Platform in Grenoble used a recently-conceived
internal wave generator as a means of producing a high-quality mode-1 wave
field. The evolution of the wave field in the absence and presence of a
supercritical Gaussian was studied by performing spatiotemporal modal
decompositions of velocity field data obtained using Particle Image Velocimetry
(PIV). The results support predictions that large-amplitude supercritical
topography produces significant reflection of the internal tide and transfer of
energy from low to high modes.
