Generation of Submesoscale Vortices by Tidal Currents Near a Water Headland

This study investigates the generation of high‐frequency, submesoscale vortices by baroclinic tidal flow near a coastal headland off southeast Korea. Using a combination of shipboard surveys and a triangular array of three bottom‐mounted acoustic Doppler current profilers, we characterize the structure and dynamics of these motions. The local flow field exhibits a two‐layer stratification with subcritical (composite Froude number <1) flow and the northward‐flowing East Korea Warm Current. At the mid‐shelf, near‐bottom currents show intense, short‐duration flood components and weaker, prolonged ebb components, with supertidal kinetic energy significantly exceeding that of the outer shelf. Estimates of vorticity and divergence at the array center reveal highly baroclinic features with magnitudes comparable to the local inertial frequency. Vertical velocities 20 m above the seabed reached 100–200 m d −1 , and vortex stretching was the dominant mechanism governing absolute vorticity in the bottom layer. These results suggest that high‐frequency submesoscale eddy‐like features, characterized by large divergence and potential vorticity, are generated by flow instabilities as baroclinic tidal currents interact with sloping bathymetry.