Mixing and Finestructure Processes in a Coastal Jet During OPTOMA-21

Abstract

High resolution tow-yo observations obtained during the OPTOMA21 cruise are used to examine finestructure and microstructure processes in a strong coastal jet which was observed off the coast of Northern California in July, 1986. Results from a combined CTD and XBT survey reveal that the jet is baroclinic and has geostrophic velocity field extending to at least 500 m. The jet has a horizontal scale of about 40 km and is readily identified in SST imagery because it entrains cold upwelled water from the coastal region and advects it far off shore. The width of the thermal signature at the surface is 15-20 km, much smaller than the width of the velocity signature. Analysis of Reinecker and Mooers (1989) found that the jet is embedded in a large scale eddy field and is located between a pair of eddies, one cyclonic and the other anti- cyclonic.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 1991
Accession Number
ADA258030

Entities

People

  • Libe Washburn

Organizations

  • University of California, Santa Barbara

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Materials and Manufacturing Processes
  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Buoyancy
  • Coastal Regions
  • Diffusivity
  • Flow
  • Fluid Dynamics
  • Frequency
  • High Resolution
  • High Temperature
  • Microstructure
  • Mixing
  • Observation
  • Regions
  • Surface Temperature
  • Temperature Gradients
  • Turbulence
  • Turbulent Mixing
  • Water Masses

Fields of Study

  • Environmental science

Readers

  • Coastal Oceanography
  • Oceanography.