Models of near-bed dynamics and sediment movement at the Iberian margin

A three dimensional time-dependent baroclinic hydrodynamic model, including sediment transport and incorporating a turbulence energy sub-model, is used in cross sectional form to examine sediment movement at the shelf edge off North West Iberia at 42°40.5’N where measurements were made as part of the OMEX-II programme. These calculations are complemented by a simpler, in essence time-independent model, which is used to examine the sensitivity of the sediment distribution over the slope (from a shelf-break source) to changes in the specified values of horizontal and vertical diffusion coefficients. The philosophy of the paper is to use idealized tidal, wind and wind wave forcing to examine changes in sediment distribution resulting from these processes. Calculations with the time-dependent and steady state models give insight into both the role of events and long-term effects. The steady state model focuses on the off-shelf region, whilst the time-dependent model considers on-shelf events.Tidal calculations showed that for the stratification used here the internal tide in the OMEX region was primarily confined to the shelf edge and ocean. A mean on-shelf sediment transport in the surface layer and off-shelf transport at the bed was found. Across-shelf circulations produced by up-welling/down-welling favourable winds gave rise to on-shelf/off-shelf currents in the bottom boundary layer with an opposite flow in the surface layer. In the case of an up-welling favourable wind, sediment suspension was at a maximum in the near coastal region, with sediment being advected off shore in the surface layer. With a down-welling favourable wind, surface sediment was advected towards the shore, but there was offshore transport at the bed. Near the shelf edge any upwelling flow had the tendency to return this sediment to the surface layer from whence it was transported on-shore. So in essence the sediment was trapped within an on-shelf circulation cell. Wind waves effects increased the total bed stress and hence the sediment concentration and its transport, although its pattern was determined by tidal and wind forcing.The time independent model with increased/decreased lateral diffusivity gave an enhanced/reduced horizontal sediment distribution for a given settling velocity. As the settling velocity increases, the down-slope movement of sediment is increased, with a reduction in the thickness of the near-bed sediment layer, but with little change in its horizontal extent.     

Non-linear interactions between tides and storm surges during extreme weather events over the eastern Canadian shelf

Ocean Dynamics - In this study, the non-linear tide-surge interactions (NTSIs) over the eastern Canadian shelf (ECS) are examined numerically during two extreme weather events. A three-dimensional...     

The impact of the planetary β-effect on the vertical structure of a coherent vortex in the South China Sea

Ocean Dynamics - Vertical axes of mesoscale eddies with the coherent structure were observed to tilt southwestward significantly from the sea surface to bottom in the South China Sea. The dynamic...     

Influence of bottom frictional effects in sill regions upon lee wave generation and implications for internal mixing

A cross-sectional nonhydrostatic model using idealized sill topography is used to examine the influence of bottom friction upon unsteady lee wave generation and flow in the region of a sill. The implications of changes in shear and lee wave intensity in terms of local mixing are also considered. Motion is induced by a barotropic tidal flow which produces a hydraulic transition, associated with which are convective overturning cells, wave breaking, and unsteady lee waves that give rise to mixing on the lee side of the sill. Calculations show that, as bottom friction is increased, current profiles on the shallow sill crest develop a highly sheared bottom boundary layer. This enhanced current shear changes the downwelling of isotherms downstream of the sill with an associated increase in the hydraulic transition, wave breaking, and convective mixing in the upper part of the water column. Both short and longer time calculations with wide and narrow sills for a number of sill depths and buoyancy frequencies confirm that increasing bottom friction modifies the flow and unsteady lee wave distribution on the downstream side of a sill. Associated with this increase in bottom friction coefficient, there is increased mixing in the upper part of the water column with an associated decrease in the vertical temperature gradient. However, this increase in mixing and decrease in temperature gradient in the upper part of the water column is very different from the conventional change in near-bed temperature gradient produced by increased bottom mixing that occurs in shallow sea regions as the bottom drag coefficient is increased.     

Influence of open boundary conditions and sill height upon seiche motion in a gulf

A cross-sectional model of an idealised constant depth gulf with a sill at its entrance, connected to a deep ocean, is used to examine the barotropic and baroclinic response of the region to wind forcing. The role of the oceanic boundary condition is also considered. Calculations show that in the case of a tall sill, where the pycnocline intersects the sill, the baroclinic response of the gulf is similar to that of a lake, and internal waves cannot radiate energy out of the gulf. The barotropic response shows free surface oscillations, with nodes located close to the centre of the oceanic basin and entrance to the gulf, with associated barotropic resonant periods. As the sill height is reduced, baroclinic wave energy is radiated from the gulf into the ocean, and the form of the baroclinic response changes from a standing wave (tall sill) as in a lake to a progressive wave (no sill). The location of sea surface elevation nodes and resonant periods changes as the sill height is reduced. Calculations of the barotropic resonant periods with and without stratification could not determine if they were influenced by the presence of stratification, although published analytical theory suggests that they should be able to when energy is lost from the gulf by internal wave radiation. This inability to detect changes in barotropic resonant period due to stratification effects is due to the small change in resonant frequency produced by baroclinic effects, as shown by analytical results, and the broad peak nature of the computed resonant frequency. In the case of a closed offshore boundary (an offshore island), there is a stronger and narrower energy peak at the resonant frequency than when a barotropic radiation condition is applied. However, the influence of stratification upon the resonant frequency could not be accurately determined. Although the offshore boundary was well removed from the gulf to such an extent that any baroclinic waves reflected from it could not reach the gulf within the integration period, it did, however, slightly influence the gulf baroclinic response due to its influence on the barotropic response.