engleski

Referencing geostrophic velocities at a northern Adriatic section

We have addressed the merits of two familiar methods to calculate absolute geostrophic currents when applied to a shallow-water section of a marginal sea. The comparison was performed on the basis of monthly collected hydrographic data and relative geostrophic currents (calculated with respect to the 30 m level) at a transect in the northern Adriatic in 1992 and 2000. The computed geostrophic currents were also compared to current-meter data collected continuously in 1992, in the surface and bottom layer of a station on the same section, and filtered with cut-off period of 10 days. When relative currents were converted to absolute the Fomin method (requiring minimal kinetic energy in the water column) provided correction closer to filtered Eulerian currents in 21 out of 24 (12 surface plus 12 bottom) comparison pairs. Modification of the sections's position confirmed that the criterion of mass conservation over the entire section generates absolute correction more susceptible to the position and the extent of the section used in its calculation. Both approximations of absolute geostrophic current worked better when applied to data collected in the warmer part of the year.

geostrophic velocity; Adriatic Sea

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