Surface tidal currents in the open sea area to the east of the Zhoushan Islands measured with high frequency surface wave radar

Abstract

Based on the quasi-harmonic analysis of 11 d vector ocean currents obtained from two high frequency surface wave radars located at Zhujiajian Island and Shengshan Island, the spatial distribution characteristics of surface tidal currents in the open sea area to the east of the Zhoushan Islands of Zhejiang Province, China are studied. The following conclusions are drawn from the analysis: the tidal current pattern in the open sea area to the east of Zhoushan Islands is primarily regular semidiurnal, which is significantly affected by the shallow water constituents. The directions of the major axes of tidal current ellipses of M2 lie approximately in the NW-SE direction. With the increasing of distance away from the coast, the directions of the tidal current ellipses gradually shift toward the E-W direction. The tidal currents are mainly reversing currents. The spatial distribution of probable maximum current velocities decreases gradually from northeast to southwest which is basically in accordance with the spatial distribution of measured maximum current velocities. The residual currents near the coast are larger than those far away from the coast. The directions of the residual currents are basically north by east, and the angle to the due north increases gradually with the increasing distance away from the coast. The topography shows a certain impact on the spatial distribution of shallow water constituents, the rotation of tidal currents, the probable maximum currents and the residual currents.