Observed Near-Surface Currents Under High Wind Speeds

Abstract

From the Surface Velocity Program (SVP) drifter current and QuikSCAT wind data, the relationship between the observed near-surface current vectors and surface wind vectors for the northwestern Pacific Ocean under high winds (20 50 m s[expn -1]) are obtained with quantitative estimations of near-surface drift ratio (current speed versus wind speed) r (~2%) and near-surface drift angle a (~0 deg 10 deg to the right of the winds). These estimations keep unchanged after removing the surface geostrophic component. From the SVP drifter current and daily WindSat wind data, the estimated r is still approximately 2%. Three linear regression equations are obtained between the observed near-surface current speeds and the surface wind stress for the high wind range.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Nov 28, 2012
Accession Number
ADA576317

Entities

People

  • Genyu Chen
  • L. R. Centurioni
  • Peter Cheng Chu
  • R. Tseng
  • Yu Hao Chang

Organizations

  • Naval Postgraduate School

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Algorithms
  • Coefficients
  • Continental Shelves
  • Data Sets
  • Geostrophic Currents
  • Momentum Transfer
  • Ocean Currents
  • Oceans
  • Pacific Ocean
  • Regression Analysis
  • Shear Stresses
  • Southern Hemisphere
  • Standards
  • Stresses
  • Wind
  • Wind Shear
  • Wind Stress

Fields of Study

  • Environmental science

Readers

  • Atmospheric Science/Meteorology
  • Mathematics or Statistics
  • Ocean-Atmosphere Mesoscale Modeling, Data Assimilation, and Flux Boundary Layers