The Evolution of Upper Ocean Thermal Structure at 10 deg N, 125 deg W during 1997-1998

Abstract

In this thesis I have endeavored to determine the factors and physical processes that controlled SST and thermocline depth at 10 deg N, 125 deg W during the Pan American Climate Study (PACS) field program. Analysis based on the PACS data set, TOPEX/Poseidon sea surface height data, European Remote Sensing satellite wind data, and model simulations and experiments reveals that the dominant mechanisms affecting the thermocline depth and SST at the mooring site during the measurement period were local surface fluxes, Ekman pumping, and vertical mixing associated with enhancement of the vertical shear by strong near-inertial waves in the upper ocean superimposed upon intra-seasonal baroclinic Rossby waves and the large scale zonal flow.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Sep 01, 2003
Accession Number
ADA537654

Entities

People

  • J. T. Farrar

Organizations

  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Materials and Manufacturing Processes
  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Birds
  • Climate Change
  • Computer Programs
  • Convection
  • Frequency Bands
  • Heat Energy
  • Isotherms
  • Jet Propulsion
  • Latent Heat
  • Measurement
  • Meteorology
  • Sea Surface Temperature
  • Stratified Fluids
  • Surface Temperature
  • Temperature Gradients
  • Two Dimensional
  • Weather Forecasting

Fields of Study

  • Environmental science

Readers

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

Technology Areas

  • Space