Numerical Study on the Velocity Structure around Tidal Fronts in the Yellow Sea

The velocity components across tidal fronts are examined using the Blumberg and Mellor 3-D nonlinearnumerical coastal circulation model incorporated with the Mellor and Yamada level 2.5 turbulent closuremodel based on the reasonable model output of the M2 tide and density residual currents. In the numericalexperiments, upwelling motion appears around all the fronts with different velocity structures, accountingfor surface cold water around the fronts. The experiments also suggest that the location and formation offronts are closely related to topography and tidal mixing, as is the velocity structure around the front.