Université Des Sciences De Hanoï Caractéristiques Des Marées Dans Le Golfe Du Tonkin Jury Introduction

The Gulf of Tonkin, situated in the Vietnam East Sea/South China Sea, is azone of strong ecological, touristic and economic interest. Improving ourknowledge of its hydro-sedimentary processes (transport of suspendedparticles) is of great importance. The scientific objective of this study is torevisit the dominant physical processes that characterize tidal dynamics in theGulf of Tonkin using a high-resolution model and the combination of allavailable data. Particular attention is thus given to model-data cross-examination using tidal gauges and coastal satellite altimetry data and tomodel calibration derived from a set of sensitivity experiments to modelparameters. The tidal energy budget of the gulf (energy flux and dissipation)is then analyzed and its resonance properties are evaluated and comparedwith idealized models and observations. Then, the tidal residual flow in bothEulerian and Lagrangian frameworks is evaluated. Finally, the problem oftidal frontogenesis is addressed showing that tidal mixing alone does notexplain the observed summer frontal structures in chlorophyll concentrations. tel-00834656,version1-17Jun2013