Gulfcasting: Dynamical Forecast Experiments for Gulf Stream Rings and Meanders

Abstract

Gulf Stream rings and meanders are among the most energetic of all oceanic mesoscale eddy and frontal phenomena. The meander and ring field evolves, propagates and interacts. Periods of relatively smooth development are interrupted by dramatic and energetic synoptical dynamic events such as ring births or coalescences with the stream and ring mergers. Such events rupture and shift frontal gradients rapidly. Forecasting the evolution of the Gulf Stream meander and ring system is the counterpart within the ocean of weather forecasting in the atmosphere. Here we report on a series of seven real-time forecast experiments for the Gulf Stream (called GULFCASTS) carried out by the Harvard ocean dynamics and modelling group. To our knowledge these represent the first systematic dynamically based real-time forecasting experiments for the Gulf Stream system.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Aug 01, 1987
Accession Number
ADA221482

Entities

People

  • Allan Richard Robinson
  • Dennis J. McGillicuddy
  • Leonard J. Walstad
  • Michael A. Spall
  • Wayne G. Leslie

Organizations

  • Harvard University

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Accuracy
  • Case Studies
  • Data Analysis
  • Geography
  • Grids
  • Gulf Stream
  • Longitude
  • Meteorology
  • Oceanography
  • Oceans
  • Planetary Sciences
  • Remote Sensing
  • Sea Surface Temperature
  • Surface Temperature
  • Three Dimensional
  • Topography
  • Weather Forecasting

Fields of Study

  • Environmental science

Readers

  • Atmospheric Science/Meteorology
  • Coastal Oceanography
  • Plasma Physics / Magnetohydrodynamics