An Examination of the North Pacific Ocean in the Spectral Domain Using Geosat Altimeter Data and a Numerical Ocean Model.

Abstract

The sea surface height (SSH) variations of the North Pacific ocean and the Kuroshio Extension region, in particular, are examined by frequency and wavenumber decompositions of a 1/80, six-layer primitive equation Pacific Ocean model and of the Geosat Exact Repeat Mission (ERM) data. Both data sets exhibit peaks in variability at 1 and 2 cycles per year over much of the Kuroshio Extension region. This study is restricted to these two frequencies. Annual variations of equatorial currents in both data sets are similar in both space and time, with the variations in the South Equatorial Current appearing as annual westward propagations. Annual variations in the strength of the Kuroshio Extension are manifested mainly through changes in the strength of the recirculation gyres on the southern side of the current. Annual transport maxima for the Kuroshio Extension occur around late October for both the model and Geosat.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 15, 1996
Accession Number
ADA308654

Entities

People

  • Gregg Jacobs
  • Harley E. Hurlburt
  • J. L. Mitchell
  • William J. Teague

Organizations

  • United States Naval Research Laboratory

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Altimeters
  • Amplitude
  • Data Sets
  • Dispersion Relations
  • Dispersions
  • Frequency
  • Grids
  • Latitude
  • Measurement
  • North Pacific Ocean
  • Oceans
  • Pacific Ocean
  • Rossby Waves
  • Standing Waves
  • Topography
  • Two Dimensional
  • Waves

Fields of Study

  • Environmental science

Readers

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

Technology Areas

  • Space