Shelfbreak upwelling induced by alongshore currents: analytical and numerical results

Abstract

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 convergence of Ekman transport at the shelfbreak. The mechanism for this phenomenon can be understood in terms of steady solutions to the shallow water equations in the presence of Coriolis force and bottom drag. Matano & Palma interpreted their numerical results in terms of the arrested topographic wave, but did not present direct comparisons. Here we present a family of analytical solutions to the equations of the arrested topographic wave that shows striking quantitative agreement with earlier numerical resultsThis is the publisher's version of record. The original submission is copyrighted by Cambridge University Press and can be found here: http://www.tos.org/Keywords: shallow water flows, ocean processes, topographic effectsKeywords: shallow water flows, ocean processes, topographic effect

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