Abstract
Low salinity water flows northward along the Scottish coast forming a persistent coastal current whose mean speed (~ kmd−1 contrasts with the generally low net flows in the U.K. shelf seas. The short period and seasonal variability of the current is assessed on the basis of recent current meter measurements and the monthly mean flow is compared with variations in freshwater runoff from the principal coastal sources.
A striking feature of the current is its interaction with the island chain of the Hebrides. Tracer distributions suggest than on entering the Minch (the channel between Scotland and the islands), part of the flow turns westward, crosses the Minch and then flows southward along the western side of the channel before proceeding northwards again up the west coast of the Hebrides. This bifurcation and meandering of the current, which is confirmed by current meter observations, is discussed in relation to a quasi-geostrophic model of topographic influence on the flow.
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© 1986 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
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Simpson, J.H., Hill, A.E. (1986). The Scottish Coastal Current. In: Skreslet, S. (eds) The Role of Freshwater Outflow in Coastal Marine Ecosystems. NATO ASI Series, vol 7. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-70886-2_21
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-70886-2_21
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