Thermal waves on the Queensland shelf

Abstract

Thermocline waves are found on the continental slope and shelf of Queensland. Slope waves of period near 90 days accompany upwelling and downwelling. Shelf thermal waves are created by onshore surges of shelf- break water, which is 1-4.5ºC cooler than lagoon water, depending on the season. The bottom surges are investigated by means of the cross-spectra of temperatures with longshore winds, with atmospheric pressure and with mean sea level. Longshore winds are found to be the driving mechanism and significant coherence is found near periods of 4 and 8 days (summer and winter, respectively) and in a band with periods of 10-70 days, perhaps peaking near 30 days. Correlation and cross-spectral analyses of temperature at sites 100 km apart suggest that the short period thermal waves popagate equatorward wheras the long period waves, which contain most of the thermal covariance, form a standing mode. Cross-spectral analysis of the root mean square amplitude of diurnal thermal variations with the longer-period thermal waves suggests that localized tidal upwelling brings bottom water over reefs.