A STUDY OF SHALLOW WATER WIND DRIFT CURRENTS AT TWO STATIONS OFF THE EAST COAST OF THE UNITED STATES,
Abstract
Ekman published his classical paper on wind drift currents in 1902, in which both the deflecting force of the earth's rotation and the eddy viscosity were taken into account. Pure drift currents in deep water far from land were predicted to move forty-five degrees to the right of the wind in the Northern Hemisphere (and to the left in the Southern Hemisphere). This study compares the results of analyses of a year of hourly observations at two stations off the east coast of the United Sates to an extension of Ekman's model to shallow near-shore areas. The observational data comprise over 12,000 paired hourly wind and surface current vectors, which are presented here in various ways, to illustrate the variability and permit comparisons. The usefulness of a shallow water drift current model, which may suggest possible reasons for some of the findings, is discussed. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 13, 1966
- Accession Number
- AD0634119
Entities
People
- Harold J. Doebler
Organizations
- Navy Underwater Sound Laboratory