The wind driven currents on the Middle Atlantic Bight inner shelf

A set of month-long current meter data from two moorings deployed at the 20 and 30 m isobaths to the southeast of Atlantic City, New Jersey are examined to characterize the structure of the wind-induced subtidal currents in the Middle Atlantic Bight under summer time conditions. The wind stress and currents are dominated by variability at the 2–4 d time scales. The majority of the wind stress variance is oriented in the along-shelf direction (35°T), but the subtidal currents at both moorings also show substantial across-shelf variability, with the standard deviation of the across-shelf current component exceeding 50% of that of the along-shelf current component. Furthermore, there is an appreciable reduction in magnitude and a change in orientation of the subtidal current vector with depth. The currents from the mooring located at the 30 m isobath are significantly coherent with the wind stress, with surface current rotating clockwise and bottom current rotating anticlockwise of the wind. With an upwelling favorable wind, there is a significant offshore flow in the upper layer and an onshore flow in the lower layer, consistent with Ekman transport. The situation reverses with a downwelling favorable wind. The depth-averaged current is dominated by variability in the along-shelf direction. Wind stress and along-shelf surface slope are the leading terms in the depth-integrated along-shelf momentum balance, but bottom stress also plays an important role in the balance. The currents at the inner shelf mooring (20 m isobath) are much less coherent with the wind, particularly for the surface current. The reduced linear correlation between the wind and the observed subtidal current there may be caused by the influence of the buoyancy-driven coastal current originating from the Hudson River estuary to the north of the mooring site.