 |
|
|
|
|
|
 |
New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research abstractsM99033 Received 8 June 1999; accepted 11 April 2000
Detecting a response to weak sea breezes in the New South Wales coastal oceanMARK T. GIBBS
Department of Marine Science
Abstract Current meter data from the coastal ocean at Sydney,
south-eastern Australia, were analysed to seek evidence of a response to the
prevailing summer sea breeze. A response to the sea breeze was found in the
currents. This is significant since the magnitude of the sea breeze was small
by comparison with winds associated with large-scale pressure systems and the
East Australian Current. Responses were determined by analysing short periods
(3-5 days) of sea breeze activity as opposed to the whole 2-month data set. The
correlations between the alongshore nearshore diurnal-period currents and the
local wind stress during the sea breeze periods were significantly higher than
the correlations during non-sea-breeze periods. Despite the stronger
correlations the sea breeze could only account for around one-quarter of the
variance in the diurnal-period currents. However, the detection of the response
to the sea breeze is significant since the sea breeze has never previously been
identified as a process for forcing alongshore nearshore currents on this
shelf. |