Coastal circulation within the Banks Peninsula region, New Zealand

Abstract

The transport of nutrients, larvae, and sediment around coastal headlands critically depends on the balance of forces that direct the currents very near to the shore. The Banks Peninsula region, New Zealand, was selected to study nearshore circulation around coastal headlands. The relative influences of tides and wind on the current were determined using an acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) deployed 2 km offshore in Pegasus Bay. Results indicated that the M2 tide is the dominant tide and explains 30% of the variance. Low frequency variability was strongly correlated with wind in the offshore direction and explained a further 20–40% of the variability. Finally, mean residual flows were 2 cm/s southward along shore, which supports the hypothesis that an eddy is episodically present in Pegasus Bay. This study is the first to quantitatively document the nearshore circulation in the Banks Peninsula region. © 2005, Copyright Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.