Hydrokinetic Energy and Transient Accelerations of Marine Currents in Colombian Nearshore Waters

Abstract

The transient acceleration of ocean currents, or internal waves, is hard to detect, because it does not have climate variability or regular manifestation in the sea. This fluctuation affects not only short-term oceanographic processes but also the hydrokinetic generation of power and the structural health of ocean technologies. Identifying and understanding the mechanisms that generate internal waves require long-term data on the kinetic and viscous–turbulent parameters of the water column measured over long intervals. In this sense, this study analyzed current profiles in nearshore waters (8.9 m depths) measured over six months in the Colombian Caribbean Sea and found internal waves due to the manifestation of transient acceleration propagating in two of the three layers of the water column. The analyzed time series of currents and turbulent kinetic profiles evidenced that transient waves occurred during changes in the surface winds. The applied methodology in this research allowed, for the first time in the study area, the detection of transient accelerations (±0.25 m/s2) that modified the hydrokinetic energy of the water column over short-term periods (6–24 h).