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Heat balances and thermally driven lagoon-ocean exchangeson a tropical coral reef system (Moorea, French Polynesia)

Publication ,  Journal Article
Herdman, LMM; Hench, JL; Monismith, SG
Published in: Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans
February 25, 2015

The role of surface and advective heat fluxes on buoyancy-driven circulation was examined within a tropical coral reef system. Measurements of local meteorological conditions as well as water temperature and velocity were made at six lagoon locations for 2 months during the austral summer. We found that temperature rather than salinity dominated buoyancy in this system. The data were used to calculate diurnally phase-averaged thermal balances. A one-dimensional momentum balance developed for a portion of the lagoon indicates that the diurnal heating pattern and consistent spatial gradients in surface heat fluxes create a baroclinic pressure gradient that is dynamically important in driving the observed circulation. The baroclinic and barotropic pressure gradients make up 90% of the momentum budget in part of the system; thus, when the baroclinic pressure gradient decreases 20% during the day due to changes in temperature gradient, this substantially changes the circulation, with different flow patterns occurring during night and day. Thermal balances computed across the entire lagoon show that the spatial heating patterns and resulting buoyancy-driven circulation are important in maintaining a persistent advective export of heat from the lagoon and for enhancing ocean-lagoon exchange.

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Published In

Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans

DOI

EISSN

2169-9291

ISSN

2169-9275

Publication Date

February 25, 2015

Volume

120

Issue

2

Start / End Page

1233 / 1252

Related Subject Headings

  • 3709 Physical geography and environmental geoscience
  • 3708 Oceanography
  • 3706 Geophysics
  • 0406 Physical Geography and Environmental Geoscience
  • 0405 Oceanography
  • 0404 Geophysics
 

Citation

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Herdman, L. M. M., Hench, J. L., & Monismith, S. G. (2015). Heat balances and thermally driven lagoon-ocean exchangeson a tropical coral reef system (Moorea, French Polynesia). Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 120(2), 1233–1252. https://doi.org/10.1002/2014JC010145
Herdman, L. M. M., J. L. Hench, and S. G. Monismith. “Heat balances and thermally driven lagoon-ocean exchangeson a tropical coral reef system (Moorea, French Polynesia).” Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans 120, no. 2 (February 25, 2015): 1233–52. https://doi.org/10.1002/2014JC010145.
Herdman LMM, Hench JL, Monismith SG. Heat balances and thermally driven lagoon-ocean exchangeson a tropical coral reef system (Moorea, French Polynesia). Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans. 2015 Feb 25;120(2):1233–52.
Herdman, L. M. M., et al. “Heat balances and thermally driven lagoon-ocean exchangeson a tropical coral reef system (Moorea, French Polynesia).” Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, vol. 120, no. 2, Feb. 2015, pp. 1233–52. Scopus, doi:10.1002/2014JC010145.
Herdman LMM, Hench JL, Monismith SG. Heat balances and thermally driven lagoon-ocean exchangeson a tropical coral reef system (Moorea, French Polynesia). Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans. 2015 Feb 25;120(2):1233–1252.

Published In

Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans

DOI

EISSN

2169-9291

ISSN

2169-9275

Publication Date

February 25, 2015

Volume

120

Issue

2

Start / End Page

1233 / 1252

Related Subject Headings

  • 3709 Physical geography and environmental geoscience
  • 3708 Oceanography
  • 3706 Geophysics
  • 0406 Physical Geography and Environmental Geoscience
  • 0405 Oceanography
  • 0404 Geophysics