On the Effect of Diurnal Tidal Currents in Determining the Thickness of the Turbulent Ekman Bottom Boundary Layer

Abstract

Whether diurnal tidal currents at midlatitudes (25–45°) can have an appreciable effect in determining the thickness of the turbulent bottom Ekman layer is considered. Simple arguments together with predictions of a numerical model suggest that the thickness of the layer is determined by the clockwise polarized component of the diurnal tide at such latitudes if its amplitude is comparable to the mean current.