Tidal and residual circulation on the North-European continental shelfs

The aim of this study is the determination of the residual circulation on the North-European Continental Shelf (bounded by the 200m isobath). This circulation is obtained, according to the Nihoul-Ronday method, by solving the hydrodynamic equations averaged over a long enough time to filter out the transitory phenomena (tides and storm surges), taking the latter into account by means of an additional term (mesoscale Reynolds stress). The tidal and wind forced circulation is first studied in order to provide the mesoscale contributions. Several cases are presented (no tidal stress, no wind, winter and summer typical situations), showing the seasonal variability of the so called residual circulation