LAUSR

Abstract ADCP profiles near the sea bed, at a 130 m depth continental shelf, were used to estimate the mean veering of the velocity vectors using a complex correlation coefficient. An analytic expression for the veering vertical gradient ( ∂ θ / ∂ z ) as function of turbulent Ekman layer thickness ( δ E ) was developed and, using constant eddy viscosity assumptions, sea bottom stress and additional turbulent boundary layer features were evaluated. Further statistics on the time series yields median values for δ E of about 13 m, eddy viscosity Az = 4.2 × 10−3 m2s−1 and median bottom stress of 9.2 × 10−2 Pa, thus leading to high Reynolds numbers. Very good agreement is obtained between observations and bottom Ekman balance solutions according to determination coefficients assessed ( R ≥ 0.99 ).