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Inflow interruption by meteorological forcing in the Strait of Gibraltar
Author(s) -
García Lafuente Jesús,
Delgado Javier,
Criado Francisco
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/2002gl015446
Subject(s) - inflow , forcing (mathematics) , wind stress , environmental science , climatology , flow (mathematics) , wind speed , atmospheric pressure , atmospheric sciences , geology , oceanography , mechanics , physics
A case of extreme meteorologically forced fluctuation of net flow through the Strait of Gibraltar is analysed. The Atlantic water inflow was interrupted during some days and the net flow reached a peak of −1.5 Sv towards the Atlantic Ocean. In spite of the rapid increase of atmospheric pressure that triggered this episode, the expected inflow contribution to the net flow induced by pressure variation should not exceed 75% of the mean inflow, insufficient to reverse the inflow. Wind stress acting on the upper layer can induce important inflow and therefore net flow fluctuations. A simple model is proposed in which wind stress intensity as a function of frequency determines the inflow response. For low frequency fluctuations and moderate wind speeds the model predicts a gain that, if added to the atmospheric pressure effect, could bring the inflow fluctuation peak beyond the mean, thus explaining the inflow interruption.