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Observations of upper-ocean dynamics close to the critical latitude (ratio of the local inertial to diurnal frequency is 0.94) from a range of platforms (surface currents using HF radar, moored instruments, and satellite remote sensing data) off southwest Australia indicated the presence of energetic, near-inertial waves generated through the diurnal-inertial resonance. During the austral summer, when southerly winds and land-sea breeze (LSB) system dominated the wind regime, strong counterclockwise diurnal motions (amplitudes surpassing 0.3 m s−1) penetrated to 300-m depth with diurnal vertical isotherm fluctuations up to 60 m. The upward phase propagation speed of ~140 m day−1, deep penetration of diurnal currents below the mixed layer, and the ~180° phase difference between the upper and lower water column suggested that the local LSB system caused the resonant diurnal motions. Relative vorticity fluctuations along two cross-shore transects indicated changes to the local effective Coriolis frequency by more than 50% (±0.5 f). In the presence of strong and relatively consistent cross-shore diurnal wind forcing in the study area, the main factors that controlled the observed energetic but sporadic near-inertial oscillations were the Leeuwin Current strength and spatial-temporal variations. These variations controlled the effective Coriolis frequency and enabled the effective pumping of diurnal wind energy into the ocean particularly when the effective Coriolis frequency was ~24 h. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Observations of upper-ocean dynamics close to the critical latitude (ratio of the local inertial to diurnal frequency is 0.94) from a range of platforms (surface currents using HF radar, moored instruments, and satellite remote sensing data) off southwest Australia indicated the presence of energetic, near-inertial waves generated through the diurnal-inertial resonance. During the austral summer, when southerly winds and land-sea breeze (LSB) system dominated the wind regime, strong counterclockwise diurnal motions (amplitudes surpassing 0.3 m s−1) penetrated to 300-m depth with diurnal vertical isotherm fluctuations up to 60 m. The upward phase propagation speed of ~140 m day−1, deep penetration of diurnal currents below the mixed layer, and the ~180° phase difference between the upper and lower water column suggested that the local LSB system caused the resonant diurnal motions. Relative vorticity fluctuations along two cross-shore transects indicated changes to the local effective Coriolis frequency by more than 50% (±0.5 f). In the presence of strong and relatively consistent cross-shore diurnal wind forcing in the study area, the main factors that controlled the observed energetic but sporadic near-inertial oscillations were the Leeuwin Current strength and spatial-temporal variations. These variations controlled the effective Coriolis frequency and enabled the effective pumping of diurnal wind energy into the ocean particularly when the effective Coriolis frequency was ~24 h. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In southwest Western Australia, strong and persistent sea breezes are common between September and February. We hypothesized that on the inner continental shelf, in the absence of tidal forcing, the depth, magnitude, and lag times of the current speed and direction responses to sea breezes would vary though the water column as a function of the sea breeze intensity. To test this hypothesis, field data were used from four sites were that were in water depths of up to 13 m. Sites were located on the inner continental shelf and were on the open coast and in a semi-enclosed coastal embayment. The dominant spectral peak in currents at all sites indicated that the majority of the spectral energy contained in the currents was due to forcing by sea breezes. Currents were aligned with the local orientation of the shoreline. On a daily basis, the sea breezes resulted in increased current speeds and also changed the current directions through the water column. The correlation between wind-current speeds and directions with depth, and the lag time between the onset of the sea breeze and the response of currents, were dependent on the intensity of the sea breezes. A higher correlation between wind and current speeds occurred during strong sea breezes and was associated with shorter lag times for the response of the bottom currents. The lag times were validated with estimates of the vertical eddy viscosity. Solar heating caused the water column to stratify in summer and the sea breezes overcame this stratification. Sea breezes caused the mixed layer to deepen and the intensity of the stratification was correlated to the strength of the sea breezes. Weak sea breezes of <5 m s were associated with the strongest thermal stratification of the water column, up to 1°C between the surface and bottom layers (6 and 10 m below the surface). In comparison, strong sea breezes of >14 m s caused only slight thermal stratification up to 0.5°C. Apart from these effects on the vertical structure of water column, the sea breezes also influenced transport and mixing in the horizontal dimension. The sea breezes in southwest Western Australia rotated in an anticlockwise direction each day and this rotation was translated into the currents. This current rotation was more prominent in surface currents and in the coastal embayment compared to the open coast. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wind and tidal straining are proposed as key mechanisms influencing the magnitude and timing of the horizontal flux of freshwater across regions of freshwater influence (ROFIs). Evidence for this hypothesis is presented in estimates of the tidally averaged residual current profile, obtained from 5 years of continuous acoustic doppler current profiler measurements in the Liverpool Bay ROFI. The modified horizontal Richardson number ( $R_{x}^{wt}$), which includes both the tidal and the wind forcing, was assessed as a measure of stratification. $R_{x}^{wt}$ was found to be a good indicator of the timing of the evolution and destruction of stratification, but was not as successful as an indicator of the magnitude of stratification, both enduring and periodic. The observed mean residual velocities are compared to those predicted by a classical solution, and the eddy viscosity ( N z) is shown to be a control on differences between the observed and predicted circulation. Principal component analysis is used to show that the strongest residual currents occur when the water column periodically alternates between a well-mixed and stratified state, a consequence of straining, rather than simply related to the density gradient. Evidence of wind straining was found in the correspondence between the wind direction and the near surface and near bed residual current direction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]