Relevance of Different Driving Terms in the Barcelona Harbor Winter Circulation: Field Study and Numerical Model Performance

Abstract

In this paper the relevance of different driving terms that contribute to the winter circulation in the Barcelona Harbor are analyzed. Data from a field campaign are analyzed in order to characterize the most relevant hydrodynamic events. This field campaign covers wind, waves, currents, and water quality parameters under winter conditions (Nov–Dec 2003). These events are related to the velocity response at a control point inside the harbor. Characteristic scenarios are simulated through numerical modeling in order to obtain the corresponding velocity field in the studied domain. The characteristic measured events and the numerical results are compared for velocity and show reasonable agreement under similar conditions. According to these results, the wind- and wave-driven circulations seem to control winter circulation in the Barcelona Harbor. The results obtained increase the knowledge of harbor hydrodynacmics and could be used as a tool to solve certain water quality problems in the Barcelona Harbor.