Publication Date:
2014-09-03
Description:
Observations of the velocity structure at the Kilo Nalu Observatory on the south shore of Oahu, Hawaii show that thermally driven baroclinic exchange is a dominant mechanism for cross-shore transport for this tropical forereef environment. Estimates of the exchange and net volume fluxes are comparable and show that the average residence time for the zone shoreward of the 12 m isobath is generally much less than one day. Although cross-shore wind stress influences the diurnal cross-shore exchange, surface heat flux is identified as the primary forcing mechanism from the phase relationships and from analysis of momentum and buoyancy balances for the record-averaged diurnal structure. Dynamic flow regimes are characterized based on a two-dimensional theoretical framework and the observations of the thermal structure at Kilo Nalu are shown to be in the unsteady temperature regime. Diurnal phasing and the cross-shore momentum balance suggest that turbulent stress divergence is an important driver of the baroclinic exchange. While the thermally driven exchange has a robust diurnal profile in the long-term, there is high temporal variability on shorter timescales. Ensemble averaged diurnal profiles indicate that the exchange is strongly modulated by surface heat flux, wind speed/direction and along-shore velocity direction. The latter highlights the role of along-shore variability in the thermally driven exchange. Analysis of the thermal balance in the nearshore region indicates that the cross-shore exchange accounts for roughly 38 of the advective heat transport on a daily basis.
Print ISSN:
0148-0227
Topics:
Geosciences
,
Physics
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