Relative contributions of external forcing factors to circulation and hydrographic properties in a micro-tidal bay

Autor: Akihide Kasai, Seokjin Yoon
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2017
Předmět:
Zdroj: Estuarine coastal and shelf science. 198:225-235
ISSN: 0272-7714
Popis: The dominant external forcing factors influencing estuarine circulation differ among coastal environments. A three-dimensional regional circulation model was developed to estimate external influence indices and relative contributions of external forcing factors such as external oceanic forcing, surface heat flux, wind stress, and river discharge to circulation and hydrographic properties in Tango Bay, Japan. Model results show that in Tango Bay, where the Tsushima Warm Current passes offshore of the bay, under conditions of strong seasonal winds and river discharge, the water temperature and salinity are strongly influenced by surface heat flux and river discharge in the surface layer, respectively, while in the middle and bottom layers both are mainly controlled by open boundary conditions. The estuarine circulation is comparably influenced by all external forcing factors, the strong current, surface heat flux, wind stress, and river discharge. However, the influence degree of each forcing factor varies with temporal variations in external forcing factors as: the influence of open boundary conditions is higher in spring and early summer when the stronger current passes offshore of the bay, that of surface heat flux reflects the absolute value of surface heat flux, that of wind stress is higher in late fall and winter due to strong seasonal winds, and that of river discharge is higher in early spring due to snow-melting and summer and early fall due to flood events. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Databáze: OpenAIRE