Steady, three-dimensional circulation on a cuspate continental shelf

Abstract

A three-dimensional diagnostic model is constructed to investigate the steady circulation on a cuspate continental shelf. The curvature of the coastline and variable bottom topography are included in the analysis. The model is forced by alongshore wind stress, offshore wind stress, wind stress curl, wind stress divergence, and the spatial variations of the density field. Because of the coastline curvature the component of the wind stress parallel to the coast varies in the alongshore direction even if the wind stress itself is spatially uniform. This leads to asymmetrical distribution of the sea level gradients and to variations in the mass flux normal to the coast. The effects of nonuniform wind forcing introduced by the coastal curvature and those purely due to the effects of the wind stress curl and divergence with no flux normal to the coast are compared and discussed.