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Locally Modified Winds Regulate Circulation in a Semi‐Enclosed Shelf Sea
Author(s) -
Akpınar Anıl,
Palmer Matthew R.,
Inall Mark,
Berx Barbara,
Polton Jeff
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
journal of geophysical research: oceans
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2169-9291
pISSN - 2169-9275
DOI - 10.1029/2021jc018248
Subject(s) - orography , wind stress , climatology , forcing (mathematics) , environmental science , ocean current , atmosphere (unit) , geology , circulation (fluid dynamics) , prevailing winds , global wind patterns , atmospheric sciences , atmospheric circulation , oceanography , meteorology , geography , precipitation , physics , thermodynamics
Wind driven circulation in the North Sea is revisited with a specific focus on locally modified winds and their impacts. We show for the first time that local extrema of the wind stress curl (WSC), generated by orography and ocean‐atmosphere interactions, help regulate circulation in the northern North Sea. While calculated transports are strongly coupled with wind stress, which itself is driven by large‐scale forcing, transports through the Norwegian Trench have higher correlations with the WSC field due to local extrema. Such WSC extrema regulate the eddy activity around the Norwegian Trench. We conclude that orography and ocean‐atmosphere interaction are two important mechanisms contributing to the generation of the WSC extrema around the Norwegian coast. Ocean‐atmosphere interaction is considered a potential mechanism developing the WSC extrema. Our results show that local winds are more important than previously documented, with important implications for regional circulation likely to result from future changes to local surface gradients, such as may arise from changing meteorological or hydro‐climatic forcing. These are additional impacts on North Sea circulation that may not be accounted for from changes in wind stress alone.