Barotropic coastal currents in the Mediterranean
- Naval Research Lab., Stennis Space Center, MS (United States)
In the winter-spring season many areas of the Mediterranean become weakly stratified and in shallow areas nearly homogeneous, thus increasing the barotropic contribution of the wind-driven circulation. Furthermore, the sea level changes and flows through the straits are strongly coupled to the atmospheric pressure changes over diurnal and weekly time scales, such flows being predominantly barotropic. An added impetus to revisit the barotropic response is the recent availability of synoptic winds and pressure fields with 45 km resolution. In this paper the authors have studied the barotropic response with a 1-layer free surface numerical model for the period September 1992 to April 1993 with 6-hourly synoptic winds. The model and topography resolution was 3.5 km, and the coefficient of horizontal friction was varied between 10 and 50m{sup 2}/sec. Emphasis is on flows near coasts and in straits.
- OSTI ID:
- 467691
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-9409461-; TRN: IM9721%%119
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 2. International conference on air-sea interaction and on meterology and oceanography of the coastal zone, Lisbon (Portugal), 22-27 Sep 1994; Other Information: PBD: [1994]; Related Information: Is Part Of Second international conference on air-sea interaction and on meteorology and oceanography of the coastal zone; PB: 343 p.
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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