Seasonal changes in the circulation of the northern North Sea
In: Continental Shelf Research. Pergamon Press: Oxford; New York. ISSN 0278-4343; e-ISSN 1873-6955, more
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| Authors | | Top |
- Turrell, W.R.
- Henderson, E.W.
- Slesser, G.
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| Abstract |
A line of 10 current meter moorings was deployed across the northern North Sea between Scotland and Norway during the Autumn Circulation Experiment (ACE). Three persistent inflows were identified; the Fair Isle current, the inflow along the western edge of the Norwegian Trench, and a third inflow offshore from the Fair Isle current. Cross-correlations of the principal components of the current meter records support the hypothesis that this inflow was independent of the Fair Isle current. In addition, lagged rotary correlations between the principal components of the currents and the wind demonstrate that the third inflow exhibited a markedly different response to the wind than did the Fair Isle current. Temperature and salinity characteristics have been used to suggest that this third inflow may have been of recent Atlantic origin. During the period prior to the removal of stratification within the northern North Sea it has been estimated that the Fair Isle current resulted in a volume flux into the North Sea of ∼20 × 104m3 s−1, the inflow within the Norwegian Trench of ∼102 × 104m3 s−1 and the northerly Atlantic inflow of ∼40 × 104m3 s−1. |
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