9408841 Boyer This three-year award supports U.S.-U.K. cooperative research in physical modeling of ocean currents between Don L. Boyer, Arizona State University and Peter A. Davies of the University of Dundee. The objective of their research is to develop physical models of the interaction of tidal currents and other unsteady background flows with bathymetry in the vicinity of continental shelf breaks. They will investigate phenomenon such as fronts and their instabilities, mean along and cross-isobath volume transports, hydraulic jumps and internal waves. The collaboration with the University of Dundee allows the investigators to apply this modeling approach to specific oceanic regions. The U.K. investigator's research is part of a large European Community Marine Science and Technology (MAST) program that includes similar studies along the Iberian and North West European continental shelves. This collaboration takes advantage of extensive field measurements and modeling efforts of MAST. Their research will provide integrated data sets on specific sites, including the Portuguese section of the Iberian shelf and the Hebridean shelf edge, and should accelerate the modeling efforts of both groups. The results will further our understanding of physical aspects of ocean currents. ***
