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1.
A finite element model of the Irish and Celtic Sea regions with a range of grid resolutions is used to examine the influence of resolution upon the higher harmonics of the tide in the region. Comparisons are also made with published results from finite difference models of the area, and observations. Calculations using fine near-shore elements with non-zero water depths in coastal regions were found to be more accurate and less time consuming than those using a zero coastal water depth. A detailed examination of the spatial variability of the higher harmonics in near-shore regions of the eastern Irish Sea particularly the Solway and Morecambe Bay showed significant small-scale variability. This together with the variation in higher harmonics in the eastern Irish Sea and adjacent estuaries, clearly shows the need for an unstructured grid model of the region that can include the estuaries. To match the high resolution of the model in near-shore regions accurate high-resolution topography is required.  相似文献   

2.
Modelling travel and residence times in the eastern Irish Sea   总被引:2,自引:0,他引:2  
The Irish Sea, which lies between 51 degrees N-56 degrees N and 2 degrees 50'W-7 degrees W, provides a sheltered environment to exploit valuable fisheries resource. Anthropogenic activity is a real threat to its water quality. The majority of freshwater input down rivers flows into the eastern Irish Sea. The structure of the water circulation was not well understood during the planning of Sellafield nuclear plant outfall site in the eastern Irish Sea. A three-dimensional primitive equation numerical model was applied to the Irish Sea to simulate both barotropic and baroclinic circulation within the region. High accuracy was achieved with regard to the prediction of both tidal circulation and surface and nearbed water temperatures across the region. The model properly represented the Western Irish Sea Gyre, induced by thermal stratification and not known during planning Sellafield. Passive tracer simulations based on the developed hydrodynamic model were used to deliver residence times of the eastern Irish Sea region for various times of the year as well as travel times from the Sellafield outfall site to various locations within the Irish Sea. The results indicate a strong seasonal variability of travel times from Sellafield to the examined locations. Travel time to the Clyde Sea is the shortest for the autumnal tracer release (90 days); it takes almost a year for the tracer to arrive at the same location if it is released in January. Travel times from Sellafield to Dublin Bay fall within the range of 180-360 days. The average residence time of the entire eastern Irish Sea is around 7 months. The areas surrounding the Isle of Man are initially flushed due to a predominant northward flow; a backwater is formed in Liverpool Bay. Thus, elevated tracer concentrations are predicted in Liverpool Bay in the case of accidental spills at the Sellafield outfall site.  相似文献   

3.
This paper presents data for the temporal and spatial distribution of nutrients in Liverpool Bay between 2003 and 2009 and an analysis of inputs of nutrients from the major rivers. The spatial distribution of winter nutrient concentrations are controlled by the region of freshwater influence (ROFI) in Liverpool Bay through the mixing of riverine freshwater and Irish Sea water, with strong linear relationships between nutrient concentration and salinity between December and February. The location of highest spring and summer phytoplankton biomass reflects the nutrient distributions as controlled by the ROFI. Analysis of 7 years of data showed that the seasonal cycle of winter maximum nutrient concentrations in February and drawdown in April/May is a recurrent feature of this location, with the timing of the drawdown varying by several weeks between years. A comparison of observed nutrient concentrations in Liverpool Bay with those predicted from inputs from rivers has been presented. Nutrient concentrations in the rivers flowing into Liverpool Bay were highly variable and there was reasonable agreement between predicted freshwater nutrient concentrations using data from this study and riverine nutrient concentrations weighted on the basis of river flow, although the exact nature of mixing between the rivers could not be determined. Predicted Irish Sea nutrient concentrations in the winter were lower than those reported for the input waters of the North Atlantic, supporting findings from previous work that nitrogen is lost through denitrification in the Irish Sea.  相似文献   

4.
This study uses a series of scenarios of wave (boundary) and wind (local) forcing to examine the sensitivity and to quantify the effects associated with nesting ProWAM and POLCOMS models for downscaling predictions of waves in the Irish Sea. The model results show that the response of the modelling system to the wave and wind forcing during the downscaling varies widely depending on wind conditions. Generally, the wave forcing has a greater effect on overall wave prediction in most of the Irish Sea, except for the eastern Irish Sea/Liverpool Bay. The study also suggests detailed look-up tables at specific locations to quantify the impacts of the different forcing scenarios over the Irish Sea, which can be readily extended to the location on any other sites.  相似文献   

5.
The storm surge period of 13–16 November 1977 when there was a major positive surge followed by a negative surge in the Irish Sea is investigated using a two-dimensional unstructured mesh model of the west coast of Britain. The model accounts for tidal and external surge forcing across its open boundaries which are situated in the Celtic Sea and off the west coast of Scotland. Although this period has been examined previously using a uniform finite-difference model, and a finite element model, neither of these could resolve the Mersey estuary which is the focus of the present study. By using a finite element model with very high mesh resolution within the Mersey, the spatial variability of surge elevations and currents within the Mersey to rapidly changing surge dynamics can be examined. The mesh in the model varies from about 7 km in deep water, to the order of 100 m in the Mersey, with the largest mesh length reaching 17 km in deep offshore regions, and smallest of order 26 m occurring in shallow coastal regions of the Mersey estuary. The model accounts for wetting/drying which occurs in shallow water coastal areas. Calculations showed that during the positive surge period, the amplitude and speed of propagation of the surge was largest in the deep water channels. This gave rise to significant spatial variability of surge elevations and currents within the estuary. As wind stresses decreased over the Irish Sea, a negative surge occurred over Liverpool Bay and at the entrance to the Mersey. However, within the Mersey there was a local positive surge which continued to propagate down the estuary. This clearly showed that although the large scale response of the Irish Sea to changing wind fields occurred rapidly, the response in the Mersey was much slower. These calculations with a west coast variable mesh model that included a high-resolution representation of the Mersey revealed for the first time how elevations and currents within the Mersey responded to Irish Sea surges that rapidly changed from positive to negative.  相似文献   

6.
Surge modelling in the eastern Irish Sea: present and future storm impact   总被引:1,自引:0,他引:1  
It is believed that, in the future, the intensity and frequency of extreme coastal flooding events may increase as a result of climate change. The Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) Flood Risk from Extreme Events (FREE) project, Coastal Flooding by Extreme Events and EU FP7 Morphological Impacts and Coastal Risks Induced by Extreme Storm Events project are investigating the flood risks in the eastern Irish Sea, an area that includes most of England’s coastal types. Using a previously modelled and validated historical extreme surge event, in November 1977, we now investigate the changes in peak surge as a result of possible future climate conditions. In order to simulate the surge, we have set up a one-way nested approach, using the Proudman Oceanographic Laboratory Coastal Ocean Modelling System 3D baroclinic model, from a domain covering the whole NW European continental shelf, through to a 1.85 km Irish Sea model; both areas are forced by tides, atmospheric pressure and winds. We use this modelling system to investigate the impact of enhanced wind velocities and increased sea levels on the peak surge elevation and residual current pattern. The results show that sea level rise has greater potential to increase surge levels than increased wind speeds.  相似文献   

7.
An unstructured grid storm surge model of the west coast of Britain, incorporating a high-resolution representation of the Mersey estuary is used to examine storm surge dynamics in the region. The focus of the study is the major surge that occurred during the period 11–14 November 1977, which has been investigated previously using uniform grid finite difference models and a finite element model of the west coast of Britain. However, none of these models included the Mersey estuary. Comparison of solutions in the eastern Irish Sea with those computed with these earlier models showed that, away from the Liverpool Bay region, the inclusion of the Mersey estuary had little effect. However, at the entrance to the Mersey, its inclusion did influence the solution. By including a detailed representation of the Mersey estuary within the model, it was possible to conduct a detailed study of storm surge propagation in the Mersey, which had never previously been performed. This detailed study showed for the first time that the surge’s temporal variability within the estuary is influenced by surge elevation at its entrance. This varies with time as a function of spatial and temporal variations of wind stress over the west coast of Britain. Within the Mersey, calculations show that the spatial variability is mainly determined by changes in bottom topography, which had not been included in earlier finite difference models. However, since water depth is influenced by variations in tidal elevation, this, together with tide surge interaction through bottom friction and momentum advection, influences the surge. The ability of the finite element model to vary the mesh in near-shore regions to such an extent that it can resolve the Mersey and hence the impact of the Mersey estuary upon the Liverpool Bay circulation shows that it has distinct advantages over earlier finite difference models. In the absence of detailed measurements within the Mersey at the time of the surge, it was not possible to validate predicted surge elevations within the Mersey. However, significant insight into physical processes influencing the surge propagation down the estuary, its reflection and spatial/temporal variability could be gained.  相似文献   

8.
Perturbation of regional ocean tides due to coastal dikes   总被引:1,自引:0,他引:1  
The tidal regime modeling system for ocean tides in the seas bordering the Korean Peninsula is designed to cover an area that is broad in scope and size, yet provide a high degree of resolution in coastal development areas, including the Saemangeum area in the eastern Yellow Sea and the Ariake Sea in Japan, where serious environmental problems have occurred after the completion of interior tidal dikes. With this simulation system, we have estimated the changes in tidal regime due to barriers at Saemangeum and Isahaya Bay in the Ariake Sea. Some results in terms of perturbations in tidal elevations due to the construction of coastal dikes are presented and discussed.  相似文献   

9.
The isotopic composition and concentration of Pb was measured in suspended particulate matter of the Irish Sea. Aerosol, surficial and pre-industrial sediment was also analysed to provide information on sources terms. Concentrations of Pb in suspended sediments were lower than previously reported which presumably reflects the international effort to reduce Pb inputs to the environment. Lead concentrations were highest in Liverpool Bay and lowest in the western Irish Sea. A significant negative relationship between Pb and salinity suggests that present inputs and the resuspension of relict lead associated with particles in areas significantly affected by freshwater discharges are the predominant sources of Pb to the Irish Sea. The isotopic composition of Pb in the stratified region of the western Irish Sea demonstrates that atmospheric sources are also significant to this region, which is consistent with current knowledge on the hydrography. Pb isotopic ratios show that water entering the Irish Sea through St George's Channel is significantly influenced by anthropogenic inputs prior to additional contamination by direct inputs to the Irish Sea.  相似文献   

10.
We applied a three-dimensional general ocean and coastal circulation model to the Irish Sea in order to determine water renewal time scales in the region. The model was forced with meteorological data for 1995, a year with relatively warm summer and when extensive hydrographic surveys were conducted in the Irish Sea. We investigated intra-annual variability in the rates of net flow through the Irish Sea and carried out several flushing simulations based on conservative tracer transport. The results indicate that the net northward flow of 2.50 km3/d is seasonally highly variable and under certain conditions is reversed to southward. The variability in obtained residence times is high; baroclinic effects are significant. Obtained results point at the importance of spatial and temporal consideration for transport of pollutants in the shelf seas. Implications for management are numerous and involve activities such as transport, fishing, use of resources, nature conservation, monitoring, tourism and recreation.  相似文献   

11.
A coarse-grid (resolution of order 7 km) model of the west coast of Britain is used to examine the sensitivity of computed storm-surge elevations and currents to a range of open-boundary conditions. The storm-surge period 1 to 26 March 1994 is used for this comparison, as it is a time of significant wind activity. Also current measurements in the North Channel of the Irish Sea together with coastal elevation measurements are available for model validation. Elevations and currents previously computed with a coarse-grid shelf-wide model can also be incorporated into the open-boundary condition to examine the influence of far-field effects. Initial model calculations with no far-field input show the importance of including shelf-wide effects from either the external shelf model, or by using observations from coastal gauges interpolated along the open boundary of the west-coast model. Provided the west-coast models open boundary is taken sufficiently far away from the region of interest, in this case the Irish Sea, then either a radiation condition or an elevation-specified condition is appropriate provided far-field effects are taken into account. If these are not included, then neither boundary condition is successful. For the radiation condition it is necessary to include both elevations and currents from a far-field model in order to reproduce the surge. In the case of an elevation-specified boundary condition far-field effects can be incorporated in hindcast calculations by including observed sea-level changes. In a storm-surge prediction calculation the radiation condition with a far-field model is required. Calculations show that computed elevations are spatially more coherent than currents, with flows through the western Irish Sea showing the greatest sensitivity to open-boundary formulation during storm events.Responsible Editor: Phil Dyke  相似文献   

12.
Sea surface temperature satellite imagery and a regional hydrodynamic model are used to investigate the variability and structure of the Liverpool Bay thermohaline front. A statistically based water mass classification technique is used to locate the front in both data sets. The front moves between 5 and 35 km in response to spring–neap changes in tidal mixing, an adjustment that is much greater than at other shelf-sea fronts. Superimposed on top of this fortnightly cycle are semi-diurnal movements of 5–10 km driven by flood and ebb tidal currents. Seasonal variability in the freshwater discharge and the density difference between buoyant inflow and more saline Irish Sea water give rise to two different dynamical regimes. During winter, when cold inflow reduces the buoyancy of the plume, a bottom-advected front develops. Over the summer, when warm river water provides additional buoyancy, a surface-advected plume detaches from the bottom and propagates much larger distances across the bay. Decoupled from near-bed processes, the position of the surface front is more variable. Fortnightly stratification and re-mixing over large areas of Liverpool Bay is a potentially important mechanism by which freshwater, and its nutrient and pollutant loads, are exported from the coastal plume system. Based on length scales estimated from model and satellite data, the erosion of post-neap stratification is estimated to be responsible for exporting approximately 19% of the fresh estuarine discharge annually entering the system. Although the baroclinic residual circulation makes a more significant contribution to freshwater fluxes, the episodic nature of the spring–neap cycle may have important implications for biogeochemical cycles within the bay.  相似文献   

13.
The levels of DDT residues, dieldrin and PCBs have been determined in the tissues of 15 species of marine animals from the Liverpool Bay area of the Irish Sea. In general, the concentrations of these compounds are somewhat lower than those reported earlier for fish from other British inshore areas, despite the fact that the Bay is subject to pollution, not only from the River Mersey, but also from extensive sewage sludge dumping. This difference may reflect recent controls on the use of these compounds.  相似文献   

14.
A variable mesh finite element model of the Irish and Celtic Sea regions with/without the inclusion of the Mersey estuary is used to examine the influence of grid resolution and the Mersey upon the higher harmonics of the tide in the region. Comparisons are made with observations and published results from finite difference models of the area. Although including a high resolution representation of the Mersey had little effect upon computed tides in the western Irish Sea it had a significant effect upon tidal currents in the eastern Irish Sea. In addition the higher harmonics of the M2 tide in near-shore regions of the eastern Irish Sea particularly the Solway and Mersey estuary together with Morecambe Bay showed significant small scale variability. The Mersey was used to test the sensitivity to including estuaries because high resolution accurate topography was available. The results presented here suggest that comparable detailed topographic data sets are required in all estuaries and near-shore regions. In addition comparisons clearly show the need for an unstructured grid model of the region that can include all the estuaries. Such an unstructured grid solution was developed here within a finite element approach, although other methods in particular the finite volume, or coordinate transformations/curvilinear grids and nesting could be applied.  相似文献   

15.
The present study investigates the sensitivity of the COupled Hydrodynamical–Ecological model for REgioNal and Shelf seas (COHERENS) to predict sea surface temperature (SST) patterns in the Sea of Iroise (western end of French Brittany) in relation to the spatial and temporal resolutions of open boundary conditions (OBCs). Two sources of daily operational OBCs of temperature are considered, derived from (1) the Mercator Global Ocean and (2) the Iberian Biscay Irish analysis and forecasting systems delivering predictions at spatial resolutions of 1/12° and 1/36°, respectively. Coastal model performance is evaluated by comparing SST predictions with recently available field data collected (1) along the route of a vessel travelling between the coast and the isle of Ushant and (2) at two offshore stations. The comparison is extended to SST spatial distribution derived from remote-sensing observations. The influence of OBC spatial resolution is exhibited in the north-eastern area of the Sea of Iroise in relation to the intrusion of cold surface waters. OBC temporal resolution is found to have a lower impact advocating for the implementation of climatological temperature forcings to predict major SST patterns in the Sea of Iroise.  相似文献   

16.
A study of the efficiency of ballast water exchange (BWE) in regional seas was carried out to assess this management method in reducing the risk of introducing non-native species. Zooplankton samples were taken before and after exchange on ten voyages where BWE took place (North Sea, English Channel, Irish Sea and Bay of Biscay). Zooplankton abundance was always reduced after exchange, but diversity increased on eight occasions. The greatest changes occurred when the source port water was of low salinity and when exchange took place in deeper waters further from land. However, it was clear that BWE did not remove all the source port taxa and this method is unlikely to provide a consistent and effective method of managing ballast water in regional seas.  相似文献   

17.
Arne Melsom 《Ocean Dynamics》2005,55(3-4):338-350
A set of two simulation ensembles of the ocean circulation in the North Sea, the Skagerrak and bordering seas has been run for the ten year period that started in January 1992. The ensembles differed only in the horizontal grid resolution. The main purposes of this investigation are (1) to quantify the variability that can be expected in multi-year simulations due to noise-like perturbations in the initial fields, and (2) to examine the robustness of model results for mesoscale features that form on the front between the Norwegian Coastal Current and water masses that are of an Atlantic Ocean origin. It is shown that the model resolution has a substantial impact on the ensemble variability, and that the role of small perturbations become more significant as the grid mesh is refined. Nevertheless, it is demonstrated that in a region to the west of the southern tip of Norway, eddies are occasionally found in the same positions at the same time in the results from all members of the ensembles. This is particularly the case in the aftermath of outbreak events of low salinity water masses from the Skagerrak into the North Sea.  相似文献   

18.
Liverpool Bay is a region of freshwater influence which receives significant freshwater loading from a number of major English and Welsh rivers. Strong tidal current flow interacts with a persistent freshwater-induced horizontal density gradient to produce strain-induced periodic stratification (SIPS). Recent work (Palmer in Ocean Dyn 60:219–226, 2010; Verspecht et al. in Geophys Res Lett 37:L18602, 2010) has identified significant modification to tidal ellipses in Liverpool Bay during stratification due to an associated reduction in pycnocline eddy viscosity. Palmer (Ocean Dyn 60:219–226, 2010) identified that this modification results in asymmetry in flow in the upper and lower layers capable of permanently transporting freshwater away from the Welsh coastline via a SIPS pumping mechanism. Observational data from a new set of observations from the Irish Sea Observatory site B confirm these results; the measured residual flow is 4.0 cm s−1 to the north in the surface mixed layer and 2.4 cm s−1 to the south in the bottom mixed layer. A realistically forced 3D hydrodynamic ocean model POLCOMS succeeds in reproducing many of the characteristics of flow and vertical density structure at site B and is used to estimate the transport of water through a transect WT that runs parallel with the Welsh coast. Model results show that SIPS is the dominant steady state, occurring for 78.2% of the time whilst enduring stratification exists only 21.0% of the year and enduring mixed periods, <1%. SIPS produces a persistent offshore flow of freshened surface water throughout the year. The estimated net flux of water in the surface mixed layer is 327 km3 year 1, of which 281 km3 year−1 is attributable to SIPS periods. Whilst the freshwater component of this flux is small, the net flux of freshwater through WT during SIPS is significant, the model estimates 1.69 km3 year−1 of freshwater to be transported away from the coast attributable to SIPS periods equivalent to 23% of annual average river flow from the four catchment areas feeding Liverpool Bay. The results show SIPS pumping to be an important process in determining the fate of freshwater and associated loads entering Liverpool Bay.  相似文献   

19.
Shells of the common cockle Cerastoderma edule have been analysed using Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) for a suite of elements (Pb, Cu, As, Zn and U). The samples of C. edule were obtained from four sites in the British Isles, two facing the Atlantic and two adjacent to the Irish Sea. The LA-ICP-MS technique, permits high resolution examination of the relationship between the concentrations of elements in the hard parts and that in the environment. This study shows that this bivalve can be used as a biomonitor of pollution. All four areas under investigation are affected by anthropogenic pollution, in particular Zn and Cu, and are characterized by short-term extreme pollution events. Furthermore, high levels of U are recorded from the cockles sampled from the sites adjacent to the Irish Sea, probably related to a combination of both natural and industrial effluents discharged into the area.  相似文献   

20.
Regions of freshwater influence (ROFIs) are dynamic areas within the coastal seas that experience cycles of stability driven by density gradients and the spring-neap tidal cycle. As a result, pulses of biological production may occur on a more frequent timescale than the classic seasonal cycle. Net community production (NCP) rates and chlorophyll a concentration are presented from a site within the ROFI of Liverpool Bay and compared to similar measurements made at a site outside the ROFI during 2009. The influence of water column stability on biological production in the ROFI was also investigated using high-frequency observations from a Cefas Smartbuoy. Both sites were autotrophic from spring to autumn before becoming heterotrophic over winter. NCP at the inshore site was estimated to range from 30.8 to 50.4 gC m−2 year−1. A linear relationship detected between chlorophyll a and NCP from both sites was used to estimate metabolic balance over 1 year at the ROFI site using high-resolution chlorophyll a concentrations from the Smartbuoy but was found to poorly replicate NCP rates compared to those derived from dissolved oxygen fluxes. There was no clear biological response to periods of stratification within the ROFI, and it is proposed that changes in light attenuation in the Liverpool Bay ROFI, driven not only by stratification but also by fluctuations in riverine sediment load, most likely play an important role in controlling phytoplankton growth in this region.  相似文献   

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