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Physical Processes and Modelling at Ocean Margins

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Ocean Margin Systems

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Abstract

Ocean margins are very productive areas and consequently they are interesting both for scientific and socio-economic reasons. Their economical importance was the main reason to support integrated projects to understand and quantify the processes responsible for high biological productivities, in order to create the scientific knowledge required for its management. For long time it was believed that high productivity of ocean margin areas was a consequence of the discharge of nutrients form the continents. As the scientific knowledge of the processes taking place on those areas increased, it was shown that biological productivity of the ocean margin is mainly a consequence of the complexity of the physical processes taking place on those areas and only in semi-enclosed areas (e.g. estuaries) a consequence of continental discharge. This conclusion has enhanced the importance of the development of integrated studies involving fieldwork and modelling.The complexity of physical problems taking place on ocean margins is a consequence of local depth gradients (e.g. continental slope and submarine canyons), but also of the wide range of forcing mechanisms driving the flow — wind, density and tides. The combination of these forcing mechanisms lead to an even more wide range of phenomena like, upwelling, fronts, internal waves, surface gravity waves, etc. To understand processes going on, process-oriented models can be used. However the final product for modelling processes in coastal areas must be an integrated model based on the primitive equations for mass and momentum. For management purposes this model has to couple physical and biological processes. In this paper a general modelling framework is described. This tool is developed to accommodate models for physics, biology and sediment transport. Numerical solutions, processes and results for the Iberian margin and for the Tagus Estuary (Portugal) are described.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto Superiror Técnico, MARETEC, Lisbon, Portugal

    R. Neves

  2. University of Algarve, Faro, Portugal

    H. Coelho

  3. Faculty of Sciences, University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal

    R. Taborda

  4. Instituto Superior Técnico, MARETEC, Lisbon, Portugal

    P. Pina

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  1. R. Neves
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  2. H. Coelho
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  4. P. Pina
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Fachbereich Geowissenschaften, Universität Bremen, Klagenfurter Straße 2, 28359, Bremen, Germany

    Gerold Wefer  & Dierk Hebbeln  & 

  2. DEEPSEAS Benthic Biology Group George Deacon Division for Ocean Processes, Southampton Oceanography Centre, European Way, Empress Dock, SO14 3ZH, Southampton, UK

    David Billett

  3. Max-Planck-Institut für Marine Mikrobiologie, Celsiusstraße 1, 28359, Bremen, Germany

    Bo Barker Jørgensen

  4. Alfred-Wegener-Institut für Polar- und Meeresforschung, Am Handelshafen 12, 27570, Bremerhaven, Germany

    Michael Schlüter

  5. Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, P.O. Box 59, 1790 AB, Den Burg, Texel, The Netherlands

    Tjeerd C. E. van Weering

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Neves, R., Coelho, H., Taborda, R., Pina, P. (2002). Physical Processes and Modelling at Ocean Margins. In: Wefer, G., Billett, D., Hebbeln, D., Jørgensen, B.B., Schlüter, M., van Weering, T.C.E. (eds) Ocean Margin Systems. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-05127-6_7

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