Topographic control of wind-driven circulation in the northern Adriatic

[1] Two synoptic wind-driven situations of the circulation in the northern Adriatic were studied using the Princeton Ocean Model over the northern Adriatic Sea (NAPOM). In both situations the basin was driven by a relatively steady wind (>8 m/s) along and across the basin over three days. In the first situation (28–30 October 2008) the SSE southern jugo or scirocco wind blew along the basin, and in the second (19–21 March 2009), the ENE bora wind blew across the basin. Cyclonic turn was present in the first situation, while the cyclonic branch of a known double-gyre circulation north of the strip of wind minima was evident in the second. We show that during the jugo the model does not confirm quantitatively the simple topographic control of a wind-driven circulation, suitable for elongated basins, while qualitatively the model meets expectations, with downwind transport in shallow areas close to shorelines and upwind transport in places with greater depths. During the bora wind, however, the wind-driven circulation in the Gulf of Trieste is well explained by this topographic control (82% of the flux through the transect).