CONTINENTAL-SLOPE CURRENTS AND ALONGSHORE TOPOGRAPHY

A model for the unsteady wind driven barotropic flow over a steep cont inental slope is developed. The response of the continental shelf to a n upwelling event and to the passage of wind pulses generates a flow o ver the shelf break which forces the flow along the continental slope. Coastline variations are included to allow simple representations of bottom topography in the form of canyons or ridges. For topography whi ch changes slowly along the coast the flow follows the coastline but t he vertical velocities produced are strongly dependent on a time varyi ng forcing flow. The response to wind pulses depends on the speed of t he pulse and close inshore is independent of the form of the topograph y.