California Current Moored Array: Local Dynamics and Mixed Layer Study
Abstract
The goal of this project was to describe the mesoscale in eastern boundary regimes such as the California Current System (CCS) of the North Pacific. Using an unprecedented set of moored, survey, drifter, and satellite observations, we have documented the statistics, the spatial modes of variability, the seasonal cycle, and the offshore propagation of the CCS mesoscale. An important feature of the nonlinear anticyclonic California Undercurrent eddies that we observed is that they trap anomalous fluid at depth. Their propagation was westward, perpendicular to the meridionally oriented mean flows. Hence, they play an important (but not previously documented or understood) role in transport and mixing, one that is orthogonal to the mean. Additionally, highly resolved measurements in the mixed layer revealed a stratified Ekman spiral that allowed us to calculate the profile of turbulent stress and hence the transfer of wind momentum from the surface into the ocean interior.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 25, 1998
- Accession Number
- ADA349068
Entities
People
- Teresa K. Chereskin
Organizations
- Scripps Institution of Oceanography