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The representation of boundary currents in a finite element shallow water model

We evaluate the influence of local resolution, eddy viscosity, coastline structure, and boundary conditions on the numerical representation of boundary currents in a finite element shallow-water model. The use of finite element discretization methods offers a higher flexibility compared to finite difference and finite volume methods, that are mainly used in previous publications. This is true for the geometry of the coast lines and for the realization of boundary conditions. For our investigations we simulate steady separation of western boundary currents from idealized and realistic coast lines. The use of grid refinement allows a detailed investigation of boundary separation at reasonable numerical cost.