A numerical study of the relative importance of wind and topographic forcing on oceanic eddy shedding by tall, deep water islands

A process-oriented, quasi-geostrophic, barotropic model has been developed with the aim of studying the relative importance of wind and topographic forcing on oceanic eddy generation by tall, deep water islands. As a case study, we chose the island of Gran Canaria. Topographic forcing was established using different intensities (weak, medium, strong, and very strong) for the oceanic current incident to the island. Wind forcing was introduced to simulate the mean wind curl observed in atmospheric tall island wakes. As observed from in situ data, the resulting wind curl consists of two cells of opposite sign which become a complementary source of vorticity at the island lee. The intensity and the shape of the two cells depend on the strength of the incident wind against the obstacle. The oceanic model was forced at three different wind (trade winds) speeds which correspond to weak, medium and strong wind intensities. Results from several numerical experiments show that in those periods where the incident wind is in the medium–strong range and the incident current speed is low (low Reynolds number), the wind forcing is the trigger mechanism for oceanic eddy generation. Eddies are spun off from the island for a lower Reynolds number (Re)/intensity of the oceanic flow (Re = 20) when compared with only topographic forcing (Re > 60). However, when the current speed is strong (high Reynolds number), the vorticity input by the wind is quickly advected by the oceanic flow and does not contribute to oceanic eddy generation. When only wind forcing is considered, only two stationary eddies are generated in the island wake. In this case, eddies of opposite sign are not sequentially spun off by the island and a Von-Kármán-like eddy street is not developed downstream of the island. Therefore, the main mechanism responsible for the development of an eddy street is the topographic perturbation of the oceanic flow by the island flanks. The wind over the island wake acts only as an additional source of vorticity, promoting the generation of an eddy street at a lower intensity of the incident oceanic flow, but not being capable of generating an eddy street without the topographic forcing.