The Effects of Tides and Oscillatory Winds on the Subtidal Inner-Shelf Cross-Shelf Circulation

Abstract

A two-dimensional numerical model is used to investigate the effects of tidal forcing and oscillatory winds on the subtidal cross-shelf circulation on the inner shelf. Bottom topography and initial stratification are representative of the South and Middle Atlantic Bights along the U.S. east coast. Results from simulations forced by upwelling winds and no tides are consistent with previous studies of inner-shelf circulation. The inclusion of tidal forcing leads to increased mixing, larger eddy viscosity coefficients, and reduced stratification over the shallow regions, effectively reducing the wind efficiency to drive cross-shelf currents on the inner shelf. Tidally averaged cross-shelf currents are weaker compared to when no tides are considered. There is an increase in the width of the region of surface wind-driven transport divergence, which changes the cross-shelf location where upwelling occurs. Lagrangian analyses indicate that tidal forcing substantially reduces the transport of offshore waters toward the coast and increases the residence time over the inner shelf by up to 70%. Fluctuating winds with zero mean lead to a rectification of the cross-shelf flow on the inner shelf, resulting in net upwelling. The rectification occurs because the cross-shelf transport is nonzero during upwelling wind forcing (since dense water is brought to the inner shelf maintaining the stratification), but is approximately zero during downwelling winds (since surface water is forced under near-bottom water, destroying the stratification). The rectification is more clearly observed when stratification is strong, when tidal forcing is weak or absent, and when the wind fluctuates at low frequency.