On the general character of coastal flow

It is well-known that some coastal currents such as the Florida Current have a recirculating region on their coastal side, while other currents such as the East Australian Current have no such region. Under the hypothesis that the form drag on a coastal current by an irregular coastal topography reduces the momentum transport of the current to a minimum for the given flow within the current, the hydraulic theory of coastal currents is used to explain this behaviour.