HR: 14:15h
AN: OS52E-02    [PDF]
TI: Shallow Water Convection Under Strong Bora Wind Forcing
AU: * Peters, H
EM: hpeters@rsmas.miami.edu
AF: RSMAS/MPO, University of Miami, 4600 Rickenbacker Cswy, Miami, FL 33149 United States
AB: The oceanic response to strong wind forcing by 40 kn ``bora'' winds off Istria in the locally 45 m deep Adriatic Sea was observed with a bottom-deployed, upward-looking, 5-beam, 600-kHz acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) as well as by microstructure profiling during the 2003 ``DOLCEVITA'' experiment. A second site west toward the Italian coast experienced weaker forcing. The ADCP sampled at 1.25--1.5 s intervals and resolved the surface wave velocity field. Convective motions had typical velocities of $\pm 2$ cm/s. Their spectrum ranged from about 1 to 30 cycles per hour (cph) with a peak near 15 cph (4 min period). Observed dissipation rates reflect the strong surface buoyancy forcing. The most intriguing microstructure measurements were taken in a $TS$ front that stayed coherent, vertical, and only some 100--200 m wide despite the severe wind forcing. Anomalously heavy water was produced {\it in\/} the front, possibly by cabaling. The observations are currently being analyzed in detail.
UR: http://www.rsmas.miami.edu/personal/h.peters/report-dolc1-um.pdf
DE: 4219 Continental shelf processes
DE: 4243 Marginal and semienclosed seas
DE: 4504 Air/sea interactions (0312)
DE: 4528 Fronts and jets
DE: 4568 Turbulence, diffusion, and mixing processes
SC: Ocean Sciences [OS]
MN: 2004 Ocean Sciences Meeting