ON STEADY, WIND-DRIVEN OCEAN CURRENTS IN A STRATIFIED MODEL OF TWO MOVING LAYERS
Abstract
The results of an analysis of steady, wind-driven currents in a (stably stratified) two-layer ocean are presented. This system is characterized by two moving layers. It is confined within a rectangular basin on a beta-plane, which is a mathematical abstration representing low and middle latitude regions of the earth. Two distinct mathematical problems are considered. The first deals with a steady frictional model of the entire basin. The second problem concerns inertial currents formed in the lower latitudes of the western boundary region. This inertial current system provides an alternative to the frictional current system as the solution in the lower boundary region. The two-layer frictional model with stable density stratification is admittedly a rough approximation to the real ocean, in which density varies continuously with elevation. The purpose in pursuing the analysis for a discontinuously stratified model (finite difference approximation) is to obtain an approximation to the vertical, as well as the horizontal, variations in the mean horizontal velocity field.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Nov 01, 1965
- Accession Number
- AD0624239
Entities
People
- Worth Jr D. Nowlin
Organizations
- Texas A&M University