Submesoscale Structure of the California Current Near San Clements Island

Abstract

The purpose of the San Clemente Basin Experiment (SCBE) was to survey the upper ocean currents and temperature in a region southwest of San Clemente Island (SCI). To accomplish this, two cruises were made during which currents were measured by using a shipboard mounted Acoustic Doppler Current Profile (ADCP). Temperature was measured during the second cruise by deploying expendable bathythermographs. The first cruise took place during 17-21 July 1989 and the second one during 2-6 September 1989. Data indicate a variety of features. Two different flow patterns were observed: Strong poleward alongshore flow (about 40 cm/s) occurred 40-60 km west of SCI and small scale eddies were seen further offshore, i.e. farther than 60 km west of SCI. The alongshore flow intensified poleward, reaching 300 m depth. The smaller scale eddies have a length scale of about 10 km and are believed to be associated with larger scale horizontal shear due to the California Current. Keywords: Coastal circulation; Upper ocean currents; Nearshore eddies.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Apr 01, 1990
Accession Number
ADA221489

Entities

People

  • Cheng‐Yu Tsai
  • Curtis Collins
  • Paul F. Jessen
  • Peter Cheng Chu

Organizations

  • Naval Postgraduate School

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Ground and Sea Platforms

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • California
  • Classification
  • Coordinate Systems
  • Data Processing
  • Engineering
  • Expendable
  • Isotherms
  • Military Research
  • Ocean Currents
  • Oceanography
  • Oceans
  • Offshore
  • Regions
  • Security
  • Shipboard
  • Shores
  • Temperature Gradients

Fields of Study

  • Environmental science

Readers

  • Ocean-Atmosphere Mesoscale Modeling, Data Assimilation, and Flux Boundary Layers
  • Oceanography.