Tidal and Residual Circulation in the Gulf of Khambhat and its Surrounding on the West Coast of India

A terrain-following ocean model is implemented for simulating three-dimensional tidal and residual circulations in the Gulf of Khambhat and its adjacent oceans on the west coast of India. The model is forced with time varying tidal levels and momentum fluxes at the western and southern boundaries. Simulated tidal levels and currents compare well with the observation at tide gauge and current-meter stations. Estimated residual circulation in the region has several notable features that include strong southward along channel flow inside the gulf, northwestward propagating coastal boundary jet currents parallel the 60 m isobaths, southward slope currents, alongshore coastal currents on the southeastern flank of the shelf and a number of meso-scale eddies. All these features of residual circulation are captured well by the satellite imagery of Chlorophyll concentration mapped in the month of March, the period when tide plays dominant role on the control of net circulation in the region