Residual Circulation in the Gulf of Suez, Egypt

A three-dimensional non-linear hydrodynamical numerical model has been used to study the water movement in the shallow Gulf of Suez at the northern end of the Red Sea. The computational grid used to schematize the Gulf has a horizontal resolution of 3×3 km and levels at 5, 15, 30 and 60 m in the vertical. The simulations were carried out separately for tidal forcing and wind forcing. Further, in each case, stratified conditions were considered to represent the state of the Gulf during late summer periods. In the case of wind-induced circulations, a uniform wind speed of 5 m s−1was applied over the Gulf, blowing from NW, N and NE directions. The results suggest that the dynamics of the Gulf of Suez are governed by the interaction of wind and density forcing. Only occasionally, for instance in the vicinity of headlands and islands, tidal residuals are of similar importance. For the overall residual currents, it was found that the typical (quasi) baroclinic two-layered inverse-estuarine circulation observed in the Gulf of Suez can be produced under the combined action of M2-tide and winds blowing steadily from the north-eastern direction. North-western and northern winds produced the reverse pattern.