Tidal Distortions Related to Extreme Atmospheric Forcing Over the Inner Shelf

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

9-1-2019

Department

Marine Science

School

Ocean Science and Engineering

Abstract

Inner shelf transport is driven by the combination of tides, waves, density gradients, and wind that interact with bottom bedforms. To extend understanding of shoal‐swale bathymetry influences on inner‐shelf hydrodynamics, we provide observations at a swale ~13 m deep within Cape Canaveral shoals, ~36 km away from Hurricane Matthew's path during October 2016. Observations document a unidirectional flow that reached 2.7 m/s at a distance ~15 km away from the shoreline. The flow changed direction, over the course of the storm, counterclockwise from southwestward (~2.7 m/s) to northeastward (~1 m/s). The unidirectional flow modified tides over the inner shelf analogously to a river discharge in a channelized tidal flow, producing overtides of the semidiurnal tidal harmonic. Our results provide measurements during extreme conditions related to shore parallel‐propagating hurricanes that can inform morphodynamic and ecological models.

Publication Title

JGR Oceans

Volume

124

Issue

9

First Page

6688

Last Page

6701

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