A numerical study on the role of wind forcing, bottom topography, and nonhydrostacy in coastal upwelling

The responses of coastal upwelling to different magnitudes of wind stress over a narrow and a wide shelf are studied using a 3-D primitive equation numerical model. The results show that the position of the upwelling front depends on both the strength and the duration of the wind forcing. The comparison between different shelf widths shows that wide shelf will limit the cold water intrusion, so that the corresponding decrease in sea surface temperature is less compared to narrow shelves. Besides, the difference between hydrostatic and nonhydrostatic model results shows that nonhydrostatic effects will enhance the growth of surface meandering, and can be more pronounced near steep fronts. Although difference does exist, our results show that the nonhydrostatic effects are very small at least in this idealized study case.