Three-dimensional numerical simulation of tides and tidal currents in the Lianzhou Bay and adjacent areas

A 3-D unstructured-grid, finite-volume coastal ocean model （FVCOM） was used to study the tides and tidal currents in the Lianzhou Bay and adjacent areas. The simulation results were in good agreement with observations. The co-tidal maps of K1 , O1 , and M2 indicated that K1 and O1 were mostly standing waves outside the Lianzhou Bay, while M2 had a largely propagating character. However, all three constituents became propagating waves when entering the Lianzhou Bay, due to the shallow waters. The tidal current ellipses showed the characters of K1 , O1 , and M2 constituents： K1 and O1 were rotating outside the bay, but rectilinear along the water channels inside the bay; M2 was mostly rectilinear over the whole area. The tidal-induced residual current shows the flow was divided into two branches by the Guantouling Peninsula： one turned to flow west; the other was blocked by the southern boundary of the peninsula, creating a clockwise circulation. In Lianzhou Bay, there were two circulation systems, a cyclonic one at the top of the bay and an anti-cyclonic at the mouth.

Tide and Current Observations in the Central Chukchi Sea During the Summer of 2012

Current data from a moored Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler （ADCP） deployed at 69°30.155N, 169″00.654″W in the central Chukchi Sea during 2012 summertime is analyzed in the present paper. Characteristics of tidal and residual currents are obtained with Cosine-Lanczos filter and cross-spectral analyses. The main achievements are as follows： 1） Along with the local inertial frequency of 12.8 h, two other peaks at -12-h and -10-d dominate the time series of raw velocity; 2） The M2 dominates the 6 resolved tide constituents with significant amplitude variations over depth and the ratios of current speed of this constituent to that of the total tidal current are 54% and 47% for u and v components, respectively. All the resolved tidal constituents rotate clockwise at depth with the exception of MM and O1. The constituents of M2 and $2 with the largest major semi-axes are similar in eccentricity and orientation at deeper levels; 3） The maximum of residual currents varies in a range of 20-30 cm s-1 over depth and the current with lower velocities flow more true north with smaller magnitudes compared to the current in surface layer. The -10d fluctuation of residual current is found throughout the water column and attributed to the response of current to the local wind forcing, with an approximate 1.4 d lag-time at the surface level and occurring several hours later in the lower layer; 4） Mean residual currents flow toward the north with the magnitudes smaller than 7 cm s-1 in a general agreement with previous studies, which suggests a relatively weaker but stable northward flow indeed exists in the central Chukchi Sea.