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Seasonal Variability of Tidal Currents in Tampa Bay, Florida
An analysis of tidal current variability is performed over seasonal scales for an 11-year record of estuarine currents at two locations in Tampa Bay, Florida. From 2002 to 2012, bimonthly harmonic analyses were performed on current observations collected near the entrance to Old Tampa Bay and at the Sunshine Skyway Bridge. The resultant tidal constituents and nontidal residual were then correlated with other parameters to determine potential physical forcing. Comparison with local wind data suggests that the land-sea breeze cycle can have significant impact on diurnal tidal current flow. Periods of strong land-sea breeze are found to have up to a 30% increase in K1 amplitude compared with periods of weak land-sea breeze. Subtidal weather-scale wind forcing with periods from 2 to 7 days demonstrates a strong correlation with nontidal residual flow, likely resulting from both direct wind forcing as well as the modification of along-estuary water-level gradients. Additionally, the M2 constituent correlates with changes in freshwater discharge and inversely correlated with wind variance. The depth-averaged M2 current amplitude can increase by more than 10 cm/s during periods of high discharge, representing a roughly 25% increase in the amplitude. The seasonal variability observed significantly impacts the accuracy of tidal current predictions for marine navigation and other uses. Predictions of peak flood or ebb currents can vary by more than 40 cm/s, depending on when observations are collected and when predictions are made.
Seasonal Variability of Tidal Currents in Tampa Bay, Florida
An analysis of tidal current variability is performed over seasonal scales for an 11-year record of estuarine currents at two locations in Tampa Bay, Florida. From 2002 to 2012, bimonthly harmonic analyses were performed on current observations collected near the entrance to Old Tampa Bay and at the Sunshine Skyway Bridge. The resultant tidal constituents and nontidal residual were then correlated with other parameters to determine potential physical forcing. Comparison with local wind data suggests that the land-sea breeze cycle can have significant impact on diurnal tidal current flow. Periods of strong land-sea breeze are found to have up to a 30% increase in K1 amplitude compared with periods of weak land-sea breeze. Subtidal weather-scale wind forcing with periods from 2 to 7 days demonstrates a strong correlation with nontidal residual flow, likely resulting from both direct wind forcing as well as the modification of along-estuary water-level gradients. Additionally, the M2 constituent correlates with changes in freshwater discharge and inversely correlated with wind variance. The depth-averaged M2 current amplitude can increase by more than 10 cm/s during periods of high discharge, representing a roughly 25% increase in the amplitude. The seasonal variability observed significantly impacts the accuracy of tidal current predictions for marine navigation and other uses. Predictions of peak flood or ebb currents can vary by more than 40 cm/s, depending on when observations are collected and when predictions are made.
Seasonal Variability of Tidal Currents in Tampa Bay, Florida
Dusek, Gregory (author) / Park, Joseph (author) / Paternostro, Christopher (author)
2016-10-27
Article (Journal)
Electronic Resource
Unknown
Seasonal Variability of Tidal Currents in Tampa Bay, Florida
| Online Contents | 2017
Seasonal Variability of Tidal Currents in Tampa Bay, Florida
| Online Contents | 2016
Seasonal Variability of Tidal Currents in Tampa Bay, Florida
| British Library Online Contents | 2017
Engineering Index Backfile | 1958