A numerical simulation case study of the coastal currents and upwelling in the western Persian Gulf

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• • We employed COHERENS model as a three-dimensional hydrodynamic model to address the coastal currents in the western Persian Gulf. • • The findings that more kinetic energy was accumulated along western Iranian coasts. • • The creation of the upwelling currents along western Iranian coasts. • • Northwestward Iranian Coastal Currents rates increase from January to April, and reach their maximum from June to August. The present study employed COHERENS model as a three-dimensional hydrodynamic model to address the coastal currents in the western Persian Gulf with a horizontal resolution of 2-minutes of latitude and longitude. The obtained results suggested that Iranian northwestward coastal currents developed from January to April and experienced their maximum intensity from June to August when the rate of the surface inflow current increases through the Strait of Hormuz and the stability of the seasonal thermocline becomes gradually stronger. The simulation results reflected that expansions of the thermocline area began by the arrival of the warm season. Under such circumstances, some stronger coastal currents were generated in summer. The strong coastal surface current in the vicinity of the western part of Iranian coasts flew southeastward, while the reverse current flew with a northwestern direction in the seabed. The obtained results suggested that a consequence of the influence of salinity flux, especially on the Iranian coasts, the speed of currents increases. The findings of this study showed that more kinetic energy was accumulated along Iranian coasts. Moreover, the current vectors on Iranian coasts were greater than those on Arabian coasts, which in turn resulted in the creation of the upwelling currents along western Iranian coasts.