Observational and Modelling Studies of the California Current Mesoscale

Abstract

The goal of this project was to use observations from the Eastern Boundary Currents (EBC) field experiment and a quasigeostrophic model to describe and predict the dynamical balances of nonlinear eddies observed in the California Current System (CCS). The synoptic, 2-D, quantitative estimates of horizontal shears, vorticity, and divergence resolved by our observations are new, and they have revealed a mesoscale eddy field that is strongly nonlinear, with Rossby numbers of O(1). Model reconstruction of one of the anticyclones confirms the large Rossby number and nonlinearity. The model results suggest that the anticyclones are submesoscale coherent vortices.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Sep 30, 1999
Accession Number
ADA371820

Entities

People

  • Pearn P. Niiler
  • Teresa K. Chereskin

Organizations

  • Scripps Institution of Oceanography

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Anticyclones
  • Boundaries
  • California
  • Classification
  • Continental Slopes
  • Deep Water
  • Dynamics
  • Kinetic Energy
  • Measurement
  • Military Research
  • Observation
  • Oceanography
  • Oceans
  • Offshore
  • Pacific Ocean
  • Two Dimensional
  • Wind Stress

Fields of Study

  • Environmental science

Readers

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