Contributing Factors to Ocean Currents Modelling in the Makran Coastal Region
Ali Ghasemi Koohi Kheil, Mehdi Shafieefar, Ahmad Rezaei, Mohamad Hosein Nemati and Mohamad Bagheri
The complex nature of ocean current circulation in the Gulf of Oman is characterized by the interaction of wind forces, density differences, tidal currents, and bathymetric changes. A 3D numerical model and measurement data of currents at eight locations and water level variations at four locations are employed to simulate the ocean currents in the Makran region, the southeast coast of Iran and Pakistan, and to investigate the ac- curacy of the model. Wind-driven currents are the major currents in the region; tidal current speeds are less than 10% of the total current speed. Cross-shore currents are mostly generated by temperature and salinity differences. Current speeds increase from the west to the east of the Makran coastal region. In the western regions, the currents are usually generated by tides and winds; in the eastern regions, the effects of wind-driven and ocean currents, which come through the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean, increase. Moving from the offshore to the coastal region, current directions change and the prevailing direction of currents roses align with the coastline direction.
Keywords: Makral coastal region, Ocean current modelling, Monsoon winds, ADCP-AWAC current recorders