Water levels in bays are affected by open-ocean changes and wind. Tides are more dampened in the bays than storm surges and sea level rise. We compare observed and modeled levels with ocean conditions and combine them with analytical models. We consider the local setup, caused by wind along the bay. Expansion using the ADCIRC tidal database will allow coverage of other bay systems on the United States East Coast. Spatial estimates of water level can inform decisions about bay flooding hazards.

In this paper we investigate the origin of the variability in near-bottom turbidity observations in Alfacs Bay (in the northwestern Mediterranean Sea). The observations of turbidity peaks are consistent with the seiche phenomenon. We suggest that the sequence of resuspension events plays an important role in the suspended sediment concentration, meaning that previous sediment resuspension events may influence the increase in suspended sediment in subsequent events.

In this contribution we investigate the hydrodynamic response in Alfacs Bay (Delta Ebro, NW Mediterranean Sea) to freshwater flows and inner bay to open sea connections. The numerical model ROMS is applied nested to Copernicus models and validated with in situ data. Considering the results, only the modification of freshwater flows is recommended due to its lower impact on the environment and associated economic costs. None of the proposed solutions solve the problem related to warm waters.

This study investigates the effects of the wave–current interactions in a region where episodes of strong cross-shelf wind occur. To do so, a coupled system between two numerical models has been implemented. The results do not show substantial differences in the water current patterns, but a clear effect on the water column stratification has been found. Additionally, stronger impact is observed for the wave period rather than the wave height.

Estuaries are productive ecosystems that provide habitat for flora and fauna. We measured changes in light and oxygen, along with variables such as tides and waves, to understand how productivity in the estuary changed over daily and seasonal time periods. We found large differences in productivity between channels and seagrass beds, as well as a link between light climate and productivity. This study will help us understand how estuaries will respond to future changes in conditions.

Cohesive sediment (mud) is ubiquitous in the world's coastal regions, but its behavior is complicated and often oversimplified by computer models. This paper describes extensions to a widely used open-source coastal ocean model that allow users to simulate important components of cohesive sediment transport.

The paper details the sensitivity of vegetation properties that are input to a 3-D submerged aquatic vegetation model within a coupled hydrodynamics and wave model. It describes a novel strategy to perform sensitivity analysis efficiently by using a combination of the Effective Quadratures method and Sobol' indices. This method reduces the number of simulations to understand the sensitivity patterns and also quantifies the amount of sensitivity.

The decadal differences between the ALBATROSS (April 1999) and MOC2-Austral (February 2010) hydrographic cruises are analyzed. Changes in the intermediate water masses beneath seem to be very sensitive to the wind conditions existing in their formation area. The Subantarctic Front is wider and weaker in 2010 than in 1999, while the Polar Front remains in the same position and strengthens.

In this contribution the wind jet dynamics in the northern margin of the Ebro River shelf (NW Mediterranean Sea) are investigated using coupled numerical models. The study area is characterized by persistent and energetic offshore winds during autumn and winter. However, the coupling effect in the wind resource assessment may be relevant due to the cubic relation between the wind intensity and power.

We estimate global surface salinity means and trends using historical (1950-2014) monthly fields and recent SMOS satellite data. We separate the regimes by fitting a Gaussian Mixture Model with a non-subjective method. There are three separate regimes: A (1950-1990) with small trends; B (1990-2009) with enhanced trends; and C (2009-2014) with significantly larger trends. The trend acceleration could be related to an enhanced hydrological cycle or to changes in sampling methodology.

Wind spatial heterogeneity in a coastal area (Alfacs Bay, northwestern Mediterranean Sea) is described using a set of observations and modelling results. Observations during 2012–2013 reveal that both N–NW winds and sea breezes appear to be affected by the local orography promoting high wind variability in relatively short spatial scales. The importance of wind models’ spatial resolution is also assessed and used to describe the spatial variability of the typical winds in the region.

Light availability to seagrass is an important factor in their success. We deployed instrumentation to measure light in Barnegat Bay, New Jersey, and found lower availability in the southern bay due to high turbidity (suspended sediment), while the northern bay has higher availability. In the northern bay, dissolved organic material and chlorophyll are most responsible for blocking light to the seagrass canopy. We also found that boat wakes do not have a large effect on sediment resuspension.