In this modeling study we investigate the dynamical mechanisms controlling the spreading of the Magellan Plume, which is a low-salinity tongue that extends along the Patagonian Shelf. Our results indicate that the overall characteristics of the plume (width, depth, spreading rate, etc.) are primarily influenced by tidal forcing, which manifests...
This study shows that simulations of bottom-trapped plumes in periodic or closed domains generate a spurious cyclonic current that arrests the natural tendency of the plume to move upstream. Furthermore, it also shows that attempts to obstruct the upstream spreading lead to a bias of the fundamental characteristics of the...
This note considers the decay of a bottom-trapped freshwater plume after the causative freshwater inflow
has ceased. It is shown that shortly after the low-density inflow stops, the barotropic pressure field that it
created radiates away and the ocean circulation becomes controlled by baroclinic pressure gradients generated
by the remnants...
It is well known that numerical simulations of freshwater discharges produce plumes that spread in the
direction opposite to that of the propagation of coastally trapped waves (the upstream direction). The lack of
a theory explaining these motions in unforced environments deemed the numerical results suspect. Thus, it
became a...
The term “downwelling currents” refers to currents with a downslope mass flux in the bottom boundary layer. Examples are the Malvinas and Southland Currents in the Southern Hemisphere and the Oyashio in the Northern Hemisphere. Although many of these currents generate the same type of highly productive ecosystems that is...
The objective of this study is to evaluate the performance of several
open boundary conditions applied to the Princeton ocean model. The focus is on
passive open boundary conditions applied to the external mode, i.e., conditions that
are applied when the mean flow at the open boundary is unknown and...
Tl1is article discusses the results of an experimental survey on the
performance of a select group of open boundary conditions (OBCs) for three-dimensional,
primitive equation models. The focus is on passive conditions, where
the model response at the open boundaries is dictated by the interior dynamics. The
performance of the...
Alongshore flow in the direction of propagation of coastal trapped waves can result in upwelling at the shelfbreak. The intensity of this upwelling can be comparable in magnitude to wind-driven coastal upwelling, with its associated ecological features. Recent numerical experiments by Matano & Palma indicate that this upwelling results from...
Alongshore flow in the direction of propagation of coastal trapped waves can result in upwelling at the shelfbreak. The intensity of this upwelling can be comparable in magnitude to wind-driven coastal upwelling, with its associated ecological features. Recent numerical experiments by Matano & Palma indicate that this upwelling results from...
We compare the oceanic circulation patterns over the
Southwestern Atlantic Shelf (SWAS) forced by nine
different wind stress climatologies. The largest differences
are observed in experiments forced with the Hellerman
and Rosenstein [1983, hereafter HR83] and Trenberth
et al. [1990, hereafter TR90] winds. HR83 shows a
general northeastward flow near...