Nearshore coastal currents on the South Carolina continental shelf
Simultaneous current, sea level, wind, and atmospheric pressure data from the South Carolina nearshore shelf during the summer are analyzed and compared. The current record was taken in the nearshore region at 10m depth, an area where the current regime has not been well studied. Most of the variance in the series is concentrated in two frequency bands. (1) 2--12 days (meteorological) and (2) 12--25 hours (tidal and daily). The variance of the two bands is approximately equal in both the alongshore and the cross-shore current components, but new flow is primarily due to low frequency events. The nearshore current flows predominantly to the northeast, possibly an Ekman response to the northerly blowing wind regime. Current reversals occur in response to frontal passages approximately every 6 days. Low frequency alongshore currents and winds are highly coherent at 2--12 days, with the currents having a phase lag of about 3 hours. Cross-shore currents are not coherent with cross-shore winds, but have a statistically significant 7 hour lag to alongshore currents. Coastal sea level is also coherent with alongshore currents, lagging by 15 hours at 4.4 days, indicating that the nearshore current may drive sea level changes. The reason for the significant lag in sea level is not clearly understood.
- Research Organization:
- Skidaway Institute of Oceanography, Savannah, Georgia 31406
- OSTI ID:
- 5947032
- Journal Information:
- J. Geophys. Res.; (United States), Vol. 88:C1
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Nearshore coastal currents on the South Carolina continental shelf
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