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Coastal water circulation response to radiational and gravitational tides within the southeastern Bay of Biscay

Coastal water circulation response to radiational and gravitational tides within the southeastern Bay of Biscay
Coastal water circulation response to radiational and gravitational tides within the southeastern Bay of Biscay
The Basque coastal area, in the southeastern Bay of Biscay, can be characterised as being strongly influenced by land climate. This, together with the presence of irregular and steep topography, complicates considerably the coastal water circulation patterns. Time-series of hourly currents, surface atmospheric pressure and wind data were analysed for two coastal stations. This research quantified the contribution of gravitational and radiational tides (breezes and solar atmospheric tides) to the coastal water circulation. Moreover, the spatial and seasonal differences in such processes were determined. This investigation has revealed that radiational tides induce diurnal and semidiurnal water motions. These exist together with higher frequency diurnal harmonics caused by anharmonic radiational wind forcing. The radiational forcing contributed similarly to water motion at the stations. The radiational currents varied seasonally, accounting for 20% and 8% of the total kinetic energy in summer and winter, respectively. In comparison, the gravitational currents were more pronounced in the station affected by estuarine dynamics.
Radiational tides, Gravitational tides, Land–sea breezes, Bay of Biscay, Basque coast
0924-7963
S95-S104
Fontán, Almudena
0904e121-582a-4a75-a14f-3ed396d4a9ea
Sáenz, Jon
54031d89-743e-4c2b-a3ea-cbd68352b95d
González, Manuel
fc6fa086-e30e-498f-a0a5-412f12e7edad
Rubio, Anna
9dad9240-c8b0-461e-baaf-81aea3767f03
Esnaola, Ganix
1ce9328c-25fb-44a9-bac7-13248a140811
Mader, Julien
a259b0af-8527-47fa-9d96-4191373025de
Liria, Pedro
908f674f-463c-4980-9a8a-8969b8b32588
Hernández, Carlos
051303f7-243e-47c9-85cb-bfeb482d473c
Ganzedo, Unai
ab3485e3-5b8f-4298-a5ef-425486e28480
Collins, Michael
3b70278b-0004-45e0-b3c9-0debdf0a9351
Fontán, Almudena
0904e121-582a-4a75-a14f-3ed396d4a9ea
Sáenz, Jon
54031d89-743e-4c2b-a3ea-cbd68352b95d
González, Manuel
fc6fa086-e30e-498f-a0a5-412f12e7edad
Rubio, Anna
9dad9240-c8b0-461e-baaf-81aea3767f03
Esnaola, Ganix
1ce9328c-25fb-44a9-bac7-13248a140811
Mader, Julien
a259b0af-8527-47fa-9d96-4191373025de
Liria, Pedro
908f674f-463c-4980-9a8a-8969b8b32588
Hernández, Carlos
051303f7-243e-47c9-85cb-bfeb482d473c
Ganzedo, Unai
ab3485e3-5b8f-4298-a5ef-425486e28480
Collins, Michael
3b70278b-0004-45e0-b3c9-0debdf0a9351

Fontán, Almudena, Sáenz, Jon, González, Manuel, Rubio, Anna, Esnaola, Ganix, Mader, Julien, Liria, Pedro, Hernández, Carlos, Ganzedo, Unai and Collins, Michael (2013) Coastal water circulation response to radiational and gravitational tides within the southeastern Bay of Biscay. Journal of Marine Systems, 109-110 (Supplement), S95-S104. (doi:10.1016/j.jmarsys.2011.10.011).

Record type: Article

Abstract

The Basque coastal area, in the southeastern Bay of Biscay, can be characterised as being strongly influenced by land climate. This, together with the presence of irregular and steep topography, complicates considerably the coastal water circulation patterns. Time-series of hourly currents, surface atmospheric pressure and wind data were analysed for two coastal stations. This research quantified the contribution of gravitational and radiational tides (breezes and solar atmospheric tides) to the coastal water circulation. Moreover, the spatial and seasonal differences in such processes were determined. This investigation has revealed that radiational tides induce diurnal and semidiurnal water motions. These exist together with higher frequency diurnal harmonics caused by anharmonic radiational wind forcing. The radiational forcing contributed similarly to water motion at the stations. The radiational currents varied seasonally, accounting for 20% and 8% of the total kinetic energy in summer and winter, respectively. In comparison, the gravitational currents were more pronounced in the station affected by estuarine dynamics.

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More information

Published date: January 2013
Keywords: Radiational tides, Gravitational tides, Land–sea breezes, Bay of Biscay, Basque coast
Organisations: Geology & Geophysics

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 346880
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/346880
ISSN: 0924-7963
PURE UUID: dc73e212-107b-402a-883f-460447cdf4f8

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Date deposited: 10 Jan 2013 16:55
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 12:42

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Contributors

Author: Almudena Fontán
Author: Jon Sáenz
Author: Manuel González
Author: Anna Rubio
Author: Ganix Esnaola
Author: Julien Mader
Author: Pedro Liria
Author: Carlos Hernández
Author: Unai Ganzedo
Author: Michael Collins

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