Attributing mean circulation patterns to physical phenomena in the Gulf of Finland

We studied circulation patterns in the Gulf of Finland, an estuary-like sub-basin of the Baltic Sea. According to previous observations and model results, the long-term mean circulation in the gulf is cyclonic and mainly density driven, whereas short-term circulation patterns are wind driven. We use...

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Main Authors: Antti Westerlund, Laura Tuomi, Pekka Alenius, Elina Miettunen, Roman E. Vankevich
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2018-01-01
Series:Oceanologia
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0078323417300623
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author Antti Westerlund
Laura Tuomi
Pekka Alenius
Elina Miettunen
Roman E. Vankevich
author_facet Antti Westerlund
Laura Tuomi
Pekka Alenius
Elina Miettunen
Roman E. Vankevich
author_sort Antti Westerlund
collection DOAJ
description We studied circulation patterns in the Gulf of Finland, an estuary-like sub-basin of the Baltic Sea. According to previous observations and model results, the long-term mean circulation in the gulf is cyclonic and mainly density driven, whereas short-term circulation patterns are wind driven. We used the high-resolution 3D hydrodynamic model NEMO to simulate the years 2012–2014. Our aim was to investigate the role of some key features, like river runoff and occasional events, in the formation of the circulation patterns. Our results show that many of the differences visible in the annual mean circulation patterns from one year to another are caused by a relatively small number of high current speed events. These events seem to be upwelling-related coastal jets. Although the Gulf of Finland receives large amounts of fresh water in river runoffs, the inter-annual variations in runoff did not explain the variations in the mean circulation patterns.
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spelling doaj.art-b429104e17724afdab2edd540a43eb492022-12-21T19:02:48ZengElsevierOceanologia0078-32342018-01-01601163110.1016/j.oceano.2017.05.003Attributing mean circulation patterns to physical phenomena in the Gulf of FinlandAntti Westerlund0Laura Tuomi1Pekka Alenius2Elina Miettunen3Roman E. Vankevich4Finnish Meteorological Institute, Marine Research, Helsinki, FinlandFinnish Meteorological Institute, Marine Research, Helsinki, FinlandFinnish Meteorological Institute, Marine Research, Helsinki, FinlandFinnish Environment Institute/Marine Research Centre, Helsinki, FinlandRussian State Hydrometeorological University, Saint Petersburg, RussiaWe studied circulation patterns in the Gulf of Finland, an estuary-like sub-basin of the Baltic Sea. According to previous observations and model results, the long-term mean circulation in the gulf is cyclonic and mainly density driven, whereas short-term circulation patterns are wind driven. We used the high-resolution 3D hydrodynamic model NEMO to simulate the years 2012–2014. Our aim was to investigate the role of some key features, like river runoff and occasional events, in the formation of the circulation patterns. Our results show that many of the differences visible in the annual mean circulation patterns from one year to another are caused by a relatively small number of high current speed events. These events seem to be upwelling-related coastal jets. Although the Gulf of Finland receives large amounts of fresh water in river runoffs, the inter-annual variations in runoff did not explain the variations in the mean circulation patterns.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0078323417300623CirculationUpwellingModellingBaltic SeaGulf of Finland
spellingShingle Antti Westerlund
Laura Tuomi
Pekka Alenius
Elina Miettunen
Roman E. Vankevich
Attributing mean circulation patterns to physical phenomena in the Gulf of Finland
Oceanologia
Circulation
Upwelling
Modelling
Baltic Sea
Gulf of Finland
title Attributing mean circulation patterns to physical phenomena in the Gulf of Finland
title_full Attributing mean circulation patterns to physical phenomena in the Gulf of Finland
title_fullStr Attributing mean circulation patterns to physical phenomena in the Gulf of Finland
title_full_unstemmed Attributing mean circulation patterns to physical phenomena in the Gulf of Finland
title_short Attributing mean circulation patterns to physical phenomena in the Gulf of Finland
title_sort attributing mean circulation patterns to physical phenomena in the gulf of finland
topic Circulation
Upwelling
Modelling
Baltic Sea
Gulf of Finland
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0078323417300623
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