Author(s): Chen Haoliang; Song Guiting; Koh Tieh-Yong; Paola Malanotte-Rizzoli

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Keywords: Malacca Strait; Wind-driven circulation; Tidal circulation; Wind stress curl; Bottom pressure torque

Abstract: The Malacca Strait is traditionally treated as a typical tidally-driven channel with other components of the circulation, such as the wind-driven one, negligible. However, the strait is frequently affected by the variable winds with high intensity and large stress curl due to the intense land-sea breeze distorting the background along-strait monsoon. To answer the question of how significant the wind-driven circulation is on impacting the total circulation, numerical simulations are carried out by separating and superimposing the different driving mechanisms. The results show that “strong winds” having high intensity and large stress curl can produce a basin-scale eddy which significantly distorts the tidal circulation even during the spring tide. The eddy is purely wind-driven, but its center is shifted southeastward from the deeper to the surface layer by the realistic topography through the bottom pressure torque. The contracted geometry of the strait only has a secondary effect on the circulation. Our study highlights the importance of including the full wind forcing in the predictions of the current circulation in a tidal channel like the Malacca Strait, as accurate predictions are important for local fisheries and navigation.

DOI:

Year: 2013