Soliton Dynamics over a Disordered Topography

We report on the dynamics of a soliton propagating on the surface of a fluid in a 4-m-long canal with a random or periodic bottom topography. Using a full space-and-time resolved wave field measurement, we evidence, for the first time experimentally, how the soliton is affected by the disorder, in the context of Anderson localization, and how localization depends on nonlinearity. For weak soliton amplitudes, the localization length is found in quantitative agreement with a linear shallow-water theory. For higher amplitudes, this spatial attenuation of the soliton amplitude is found to be enhanced. Behind the leading soliton slowed down by the topography, different experimentally unreported dynamics occur: fission into backward and forward nondispersive pulses for the periodic case, and scattering into dispersive waves for the random case. Our findings open doors to potential applications regarding ocean coastal protection against large-amplitude waves.