Hydrography and dynamics of the Ría de Ribadeo (NW Spain), a wave driven estuary

Abstract

The Ría de Ribadeo, a small embayment in NW Spain, was observed for the first time using three months of ADCP (Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler) current meter records and three CTD (Conductivity Temperature Depth) surveys. A wave driven circulation pattern arises from the observations, instead of the shelf wind driven circulation of other Galician Rias. Based on ADCP records, a unidirectional flow in the horizontal velocity field coexists with the classic two-layer circulation (bidirectional flow). The proposed horizontal circulation pattern can then be explained as a wave driven inflow. This flow enters the ria through the west side, describes an anticlockwise gyre inside of it, and flows out through the east side. Numerical simulations run with the HAMSOM (Hamburg Shelf Ocean Model) agreed with observations, confirming the proposed pattern