On the response of a turbulent coastal buoyant current to wind events: the case of the Western Adriatic Current

This numerical study focuses on the response of the Western Adriatic Current to wind forcing. The turbulent buoyant surface current is induced by the Po river outflow in the Adriatic Sea. Idealized and realistic wind conditions are considered by retaining the complex geomorphology of the middle Adriatic basin. In the absence of wind, the Adriatic Promontories force the current to separate from the coast and induce instabilities. Persistent 7-m s−1 downwelling favorable northwesterly winds thicken and narrow the current. Instabilities whose size is ∼ 10 km develop but ultimately vanish, since there is not enough across-shore space to grow. On the contrary, 7-m s−1 upwelling favorable southeasterly winds thin and widen the current, and instabilities can grow to form mesoscale (∼ 35 km) Responsible Editor: Rosemary Morrow M. G. Magaldi (B) Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, The Johns Hopkins University, 328 Olin Hall, 34th and North Charles Streets, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA e-mail: [email protected] M. G. Magaldi · T. M. Özgökmen · A. Griffa Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science/MPO, University of Miami, 4600 Rickenbacker Cswy, Miami, FL 33149-1098, USA A. Griffa Istituto di Scienze Marine, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Forte Santa Teresa, 19036, Pozzuolo di Lerici (SP), Italy M. Rixen NURC, NATO Undersea Research Centre, Viale San Bartolomeo 400, 19126, La Spezia (SP), Italy features. When realistic winds are considered, the same trends are observed, but the state of the sea set up by previous wind events also plays a crucial role. The turbulent regimes set up by different winds affect mixing and the WAC meridional transport. With downwelling winds, the transport is generally southward and mixing happens mostly between the fresher (S ≤ 38) salinity classes. With upwelling winds, the transport decreases and changes sign, and mixing mainly involves saltier (S > 38) waters. In all cases, mixing is enhanced when a finer 0.5-km horizontal resolution is employed.