Influence of along‐shore advection and upwelling on coastal temperature at Kaikoura Peninsula, New Zealand

Abstract

Thermistor data from around Kaikoura Peninsula, New Zealand, show that in the synoptic band, temperature fluctuations at 1 m are coherent with the along‐shore wind with a 90° phase difference. At 5 m, however, the coherence is not as high, and the phase relationship is in the opposite sense. Along this coast, wind‐driven advection of the coastal current and upwelling have opposite effects on temperature. A simple model is developed which has along‐shore advection and upwelling terms parameterised in terms of the wind and two unknown coefficients. Solving for the coefficients shows that at 1 m, temperature variability is determined by along‐shore advection, whereas at 5 m, temperature variability is determined principally by upwelling.

Keywords:

• oceanography
• temperature
• coastal communities
• upwelling