RT Journal Article
T1 A numerical model analysis of the tidal flows in the Bay of Algeciras, Strait of Gibraltar
A1 Sammartino, Simone
A1 García-Lafuente, Jesús
A1 Sánchez-Garrido, José Carlos
A1 De los Santos, F.J.
A1 Álvarez-Fanjul, Enrique
A1 Naranjo-Rosa, Cristina Belén
A1 Bruno, Miguel
A1 Calero, C.
K1 Mareas
AB A numerical model has been applied to study the tidal flows of the Bay of Algeciras in the eastern partof the Strait of Gibraltar, focusing on the M2 semidiurnal constituent. The numerical model wassatisfactorily validated against a comprehensive set of observations collected in the bay in the year2011 and the model outputs were used for a detailed analysis of the local tidal circulation. The M2 net(vertically integrated) transport across the mouth of the bay has an amplitude of 2.7   103 Sv, whilethat of the sea surface signal is of  30 cm and is in quadrature with this flow. However, the verticallyintegrated flow is the result of a pronounced baroclinic structure consisting of an upper ðSo37:5Þ andlower ðS437:5Þ layers, whose associated transports are one order of magnitude higher. This reveals anoticeable internal tide that is characterized by an inward (to the head of the bay) propagation and alikely quarter-wave resonance. During the rising tide, Atlantic water from the strait comes in andproduces the thickening of the upper (Atlantic) layer in the bay, while Mediterranean water of the lowerlayer is pushed out to join the Mediterranean water stream that is flowing to the west along the Strait ofGibraltar. During the falling tide, Atlantic water flows out of the bay and incorporates to the eastwardflow in the strait. In this tidal phase, Mediterranean water flows into the bay. Therefore, Atlantic andMediterranean waters accumulate in the bay during the rising and falling tide, respectively. This patternis opposite to that observed in the strait, where the Mediterranean layer thickens during the rising tideand becomes thinner during the falling tide. This suggests that the internal tide in the bay is basicallydetermined by the baroclinic forcing at its mouth imposed by the baroclinic tide of the Strait of Gibraltar.
PB Elsevier
YR 2013
FD 2013-11-15
LK https://hdl.handle.net/10630/33295
UL https://hdl.handle.net/10630/33295
LA eng
NO Sammartino, S., García Lafuente, J., Sánchez Garrido, J. C., De los Santos, F. J., Álvarez Fanjul, E., Naranjo, C., Bruno, M., & Calero, C. (2014). A numerical model analysis of the tidal flows in the Bay of Algeciras, Strait of Gibraltar. In Continental Shelf Research (Vol. 72, pp. 34–46). Elsevier BV. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.csr.2013.11.002
DS RIUMA. Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Málaga
RD 20 ene 2026