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

Fontán, Almudena; Sáenz, Jon; González, Manuel; Rubio, Anna; Esnaola, Ganix; Mader, Julien; Liria, Pedro; Hernández, Carlos; Ganzedo, Unai; Collins, Michael B.

doi:10.1016/j.jmarsys.2011.10.011

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 27 publications

(33 reference statements)

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“…The diurnal tidal constituents were not eliminated as the diurnal tidal currents are very weak in the SE Bay of Biscay [ Le Cann , ]. Furthermore, the diurnal tidal currents are much weaker than the currents induced by the land‐sea breezes, i.e., nontidal [ Fontán et al ., ].…”

Section: Observationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Within the Bay of Biscay, the research concerning the water circulation has been mainly focused on the poleward slope current and the associated slope water oceanic eddies [ Pingree and LeCann , ; García‐Soto et al ., ; Gil , ; Le Cann and Serpette , ; Herbert et al ., ; Le Henaff et al ., ; Esnaola et al ., , among others], leaving, to some extent, the water circulation response to the wind action in the background. In particular, the research undertaken on wind‐induced currents in the SE Bay of Biscay is scarce and regularly based on model simulation or short‐term time series and fixed locations [ Ibáñez , ; Álvarez Salgado et al ., ; González et al ., ; Fontán et al ., ]. In the meantime, large spatial coverage high‐frequency (HF) radar measurements have been undertaken in the SE Bay of Biscay.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Anisotropic response of surface circulation to wind forcing, as inferred from high‐frequency radar currents in the southeastern Bay of Biscay

Fontán

Cornuelle

2015

JGR Oceans

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The short-term (less than 20 days) response of surface circulation to wind has been determined in waters of the southeastern Bay of Biscay, using wind impulse response (time domain) and transfer (frequency domain) functions relating high-frequency radar currents and reanalysis winds. The response of surface currents is amplified at the near-inertial frequency and the low-frequency and it varies spatially. The analysis indicates that the response of the ocean to the wind is slightly anisotropic, likely due to pressure gradients and friction induced by the bottom and coastline boundaries in this region. Thus, the transfer function at the near-inertial frequency decreases onshore due to the coastline inhibition of circularly polarized near-inertial motion. In contrast, the low-frequency transfer function is enhanced toward the coast as a result of the geostrophic balance between the cross-shore pressure gradient and the Coriolis forces. The transfer functions also vary with season. In summer, the current response to wind is expected to be stronger but shallower due to stratification; in winter, the larger mixed layer depth results in a weaker but deeper response. The results obtained are consistent with the theoretical description of wind-driven circulation and can be used to develop a statistical model with a broad range of applications including accurate oceanic forecasting and understanding of the coupled atmosphere-ocean influence on marine ecosystems.

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Section: Observationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Anisotropic response of surface circulation to wind forcing, as inferred from high‐frequency radar currents in the southeastern Bay of Biscay

Fontán

Cornuelle

2015

JGR Oceans

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Variability in the air–sea interaction patterns and timescales within the south-eastern Bay of Biscay, as observed by HF radar data

et al. 2013

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Abstract. Two high-frequency (HF) radar stations were installed on the coast of the south-eastern Bay of Biscay in 2009, providing high spatial and temporal resolution and large spatial coverage of currents in the area for the first time. This has made it possible to quantitatively assess the air-sea interaction patterns and timescales for the period 2009-2010. The analysis was conducted using the Barnett-Preisendorfer approach to canonical correlation analysis (CCA) of reanalysis surface winds and HF radar-derived surface currents. The CCA yields two canonical patterns: the first windcurrent interaction pattern corresponds to the classical Ekman drift at the sea surface, whilst the second describes an anticyclonic/cyclonic surface circulation. The results obtained demonstrate that local winds play an important role in driving the upper water circulation. The wind-current interaction timescales are mainly related to diurnal breezes and synoptic variability. In particular, the breezes force diurnal currents in waters of the continental shelf and slope of the south-eastern Bay. It is concluded that the breezes may force diurnal currents over considerably wider areas than that covered by the HF radar, considering that the northern and southern continental shelves of the Bay exhibit stronger diurnal than annual wind amplitudes.

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Variability in the air–sea interaction patterns and time-scales within the Southeastern Bay of Biscay, as observed by HF radar data

Fontán¹,

Esnaola²,

Sáenz³

et al. 2012

Preprint

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Two high frequency (HF) radar stations were installed on the Southeastern Bay of Biscay in 2009, providing high spatial and temporal resolution and large spatial coverage currents for the first time in the area. This has enabled to determine quantitatively the air–sea interaction patterns and time-scales for the period 2009–2010. The analysis was conducted by using the Barnett-Preisendorfer approach to canonical correlation analysis (CCA) of reanalysis surface winds and HF radar-derived currents. The results reveal that the CCA yields two canonical patterns. The first wind-current interaction pattern corresponds to the classical Ekman drift at sea surface, whilst the second describes an anticyclonic/cyclonic surface circulation. The results obtained demonstrate that the local winds play an important role in driving the upper water circulation. The wind-current interaction time-scales are mainly related to diurnal breezes and synoptic variability. In particular, the breezes force diurnal currents in the continental shelf and slope of the Southeastern Bay. It is concluded that the breezes may force diurnal currents over considerably wider areas than that covered by the HF radar, considering that the northern and southern continental shelves of the Bay exhibit stronger diurnal than annual wind amplitudes

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

Cited by 3 publications

References 27 publications

Anisotropic response of surface circulation to wind forcing, as inferred from high‐frequency radar currents in the southeastern Bay of Biscay

Anisotropic response of surface circulation to wind forcing, as inferred from high‐frequency radar currents in the southeastern Bay of Biscay

Variability in the air–sea interaction patterns and timescales within the south-eastern Bay of Biscay, as observed by HF radar data

Variability in the air–sea interaction patterns and time-scales within the Southeastern Bay of Biscay, as observed by HF radar data

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