Copyright The Oceanographic Society of Japan. Review On the Theories that Underlie Our Understanding of Continental Shelf Circulation

Our present understanding of continental shelf circulation rests on a few conceptual models which yield highly idealized mathematical representations of shelf topography and dynamics. This review examines several of such models in the light of experimental evidence accumulated within the past two decades or so: what are the successes of the models, and what overidealizations underlie their shortcomings. The coastal jet model, coastally trapped wave models, the dynamic height model, Joint Effect of Baroclinity and Relief (JEBAR) models, self-advection of density and front models are discussed in turn. The final section on the interaction of shelf and boundary currents draws attention to the lack of satisfactory models for this important aspect of shelf dynamics. Keywords: ⋅Continental shelf circulation, ⋅ coastal oceanogra-phy, ⋅ coastal upwelling, ⋅ coastally trapped waves, ⋅ thermohaline coastal currents. 1