Dynamics of a Buoyant Coastal Current Encountering Abrupt Changes in Coastline and Bathymetry

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AbstractBuoyant coastal currents transport fresh water, heat, dissolved and particulate materials along many continental shelves and thereby impact coastal circulation and ecosystems. The dynamics by which they adjust to changes in topography and coastline are poorly understood. The PI's will use laboratory and numerical models to study a buoyant coastal current crossing a simple channel. Both surface-trapped currents, which do not feel the bottom, and slope-controlled currents which are steered by a sloping bottom will be considered. Buoyant fluxes into the channel and past the channel will be quantified among other variables. The synergy between laboratory and numerical models will be used to overcome the difficulties and uncertainties of each approach. Finally, the numerical model will be applied to several ocean locations with realistic coastlines and bathymetry and the results will be compared both to existing observations at these locations and to the results of idealized models.Broader Impacts: Better understanding of buoyant coastal currents as a result of this study will help other research efforts many of which are interdisciplinary. The results will become a part of a graduate course in coastal physical oceanography. The laboratory experiments will be displayed to school groups and will act as motivational and teaching tools.