New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research abstracts

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FRICTIONAL INFLUENCE ON SEA LEVEL OSCILLATIONS IN OTAGO HARBOUR, NEW ZEALAND

R. A. Heath

New Zealand Oceanographic Institute, Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, Wellington

Abstract Oscillations in Otago Harbour, (45° 49' S, 170° 38' E) produced by the 1960 Chilean Tsunami are found by spectral analysis to have most of their energy at a period of about 80 min. By numerically integrating a one-dimensional linear momentum equation and the continuity equation for various sections of the harbour, this period is found to correspond to the quarter wavelength oscillation in the main channel between the mouth of the harbour and the Halfway Islands. The large value of the linear frictional coefficient, calculated from the phase of the tide in the harbour, and the resulting excessive damping, indicates why long period non-tidal oscillations are generally not found in the harbour.

N.Z. Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 8 (2): 415-24.
(Received for publication 26 September 1973)

PDF file of entire paper: medium quality (593K); (scanned from paper original: notes about this process)

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