TIDAL DYNAMICS AND ASSOCIATED FEATURES OF THE NORTHWESTERN SHELF OF THE ALBORAN SEA

Current meter records from several stations in the northwestern Albora n Sea have been examined, to determine the structure of the tide on th e Spanish Continental shelf. Tidal activity is restricted mainly to th e westernmost area, where an inflowing jet of Atlantic water through t he Strait of Gibraltar is observed almost permanently. A remarkable ba roclinic tide, dominated by the interfacial mode, exists in this area. The geographic location of the jet and associated front, which exhibi ts low frequency fluctuations, controls the intensity of the baroclini c tide: the influence of the spring-neap tidal cycle is also noticeabl e. A study of the propagation of this internal tide confirms it as a f eature related to the density front. During certain tidal cycles, inte rnal hydraulic jumps appear to be formed somewhere over the shelf, sho rtly after high tide; later, they decay releasing undular internal bor es. Internal waves originating from the Gibraltar Strait (generated at Camarinal Sill) are detected regularly at the outer and westernmost s tation of our study area. All these features become less distinctive i n an easterly direction.