Wave-driven circulation in a coastal bay during the landfall of a hurricane

[1] A coupled wave/flow model was used to simulate the currents in a coastal bay during the landfall of a hurricane with large waves. Extensive wave breaking along the shoreline and over a midbay shoal induced the development of a strong mean circulation in the bay, in combination with currents forced by wind, tide, and storm surge. The general circulation pattern consisted of inflows along the shoreline and over the shoal region that were driven by radiation stress gradients, and outflows due to mass balance of the wave-driven inflow that were observed in deeper channels. The predicted currents agreed with observations only when wave forcing was included in the circulation model. Wave-driven flows accounted for over 50% of the high flushing rates during the storm and induced strong horizontal velocity gradients over short (∼200 m) length scales.

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