Tidal Currents

Wiwin Windupranata &

Samsul Bachri
COZSES - ITB
Contents
 Definitions
 Relation between
Tides and Tidal
Currents
 Linier and Rotary
Tidal Currents
 Tidal Currents
Observation
Methods
 Data Analysis

Wiwin Windupranata & Samsul Bachri @ 2013

 Definitions
 Current
horizontal movement
of water
 Tidal Current
the periodic horizontal
flow of water
accompanying the rise
and fall of the tide
 Non-tidal Currents
all currents not due to
the tidal movement

Wiwin Windupranata & Samsul Bachri @ 2013

Tides and Tidal Currents
 Tidal current pattern follows
its correspondence tidal
condition
 The movement toward
shore or upstream is the
flood
 The movement away from
shore or downstream is the
ebb
 In a purely semidiurnal
current unaffected by non
tidal flow, the flood and
ebb each last about 6
hours and 13 minutes

Wiwin Windupranata & Samsul Bachri @ 2013

Wiwin Windupranata & Samsul Bachri @ 2013
max min

Wiwin Windupranata & Samsul Bachri @ 2013

 Rotary Tidal Currents
Offshore, where the
direction of flow is
not restricted by any
barriers, the tidal
current is rotary
 The current flows
continuously, with
the direction
changing through all
points of the
compass during the
tidal period

Wiwin Windupranata & Samsul Bachri @ 2013

Rotary Tidal Currents
 Rotate clockwise in
the northern
hemisphere
 Rotate counter-
clockwise in the
southern
hemisphere

Wiwin Windupranata & Samsul Bachri @ 2013

 Linier Tidal Currents
 In enclosed basins, tidal
currents flow in from
open water during the
"flood" stage and out
during the ebb stage
 Tidal currents in these
basins have a
"rectilinear" pattern
 They reverse rapidly
after short periods of
"slack water" and then
flow in the opposite
direction

Wiwin Windupranata & Samsul Bachri @ 2013

Standing Wave Tide
 The time of flood,
ebb, and slack water
varies depending on
the location
 In small, enclosed
basins, slack water
tends to occur near
or at high tide and
again near low tide

Wiwin Windupranata & Samsul Bachri @ 2013

 Progressive Wave Tide
In long open channels
and open areas, slack
water occurs closer to
mid-tide
 The strongest flood
occurs near high tide,
the strongest ebb
occurs near low tide,
and slack water occurs
roughly halfway
between high and low
tide

Wiwin Windupranata & Samsul Bachri @ 2013

 River’s Entry
 As one tidal current
travels up estuaries
and inlets, inflow from
rivers starts to affect
tides
 Under some
circumstances, water
elevations continue to
rise and fall, even
though the current in
the channel never
reverses

Wiwin Windupranata & Samsul Bachri @ 2013

Observation Methods
 Eulerian Method
describe the currents
at one fixed place
(Current Meter,
Acoustic Doppler
Profiller, etc.)
 Lagrangian Method
describe the currents
as you follow a water
particle along its
trajectory (Dye, Buoy,
Drifter, etc.)

Wiwin Windupranata & Samsul Bachri @ 2013

Current Meter

Wiwin Windupranata & Samsul Bachri @ 2013

Acoustic Current Profiller

Wiwin Windupranata & Samsul Bachri @ 2013

Current Drifter

Wiwin Windupranata & Samsul Bachri @ 2013

Data Analysis
 How to separate
tidal and non-tidal
currents?
 Statistical Mean
 Signal Processing
(e.g. Fourier
Transform)
 Harmonic Analysis

Wiwin Windupranata & Samsul Bachri @ 2013

 5 80

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0.5

1 m/s

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09:00 12:00 15:00 18:00 21:00 00:00 03:00 06:00

Wiwin Windupranata & Samsul Bachri @ 2013

Thank You