Current circulation pattern in waters around Pulau Tinggi, Johor

Abstract

The current circulation pattern in waters around Pulau Tinggi, Johor was deduced based on the results of the Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) measurements during a period of 16 – 19 August 2004. It appears that the currents, regardless of tidal cycle, were predominantly southerly or southeasterly with average speeds of between 30 – 50 cm s-1. There appears to be current speed horizontal gradient toward the island as the current became weaker as it gets closer to the island. In the upper 10-15 m the currents were slowed by the prevailing winds which were predominantly southeasterly during the period. In the lower layer, about 10 m from seabed, the current speed reduced drastically due to bottom friction. The circulation pattern proves to be a typical pattern of a flow around an island where an evident of an eddy was captured in the observation data in a station located south of the island. Estimated shallow water Reynolds number indicates that the flow may produce a pair vortex of opposite direction and a central return flow at the southern end of the island.