2332 JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL OCEANOGRAPHY VOLUME 28 NOTES AND CORRESPONDENCE The Work Done by the Wind on the Oceanic General Circulation
A new estimate is made using altimeter data of the rate at which the wind works on the oceanic general circulation. The value of about 1 TW is lower than previously estimated and is dominated by the work done by the mean zonal wind in the Southern Ocean. The meridional component of the mean wind con...
Main Author: | |
---|---|
Other Authors: | |
Format: | Text |
Language: | English |
Published: |
1998
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.389.5433 http://ocean.mit.edu/~cwunsch/papersonline/workongencirc.pdf |
id |
ftciteseerx:oai:CiteSeerX.psu:10.1.1.389.5433 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftciteseerx:oai:CiteSeerX.psu:10.1.1.389.5433 2023-05-15T18:24:57+02:00 2332 JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL OCEANOGRAPHY VOLUME 28 NOTES AND CORRESPONDENCE The Work Done by the Wind on the Oceanic General Circulation Carl Wunsch The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives 1998 application/pdf http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.389.5433 http://ocean.mit.edu/~cwunsch/papersonline/workongencirc.pdf en eng http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.389.5433 http://ocean.mit.edu/~cwunsch/papersonline/workongencirc.pdf Metadata may be used without restrictions as long as the oai identifier remains attached to it. http://ocean.mit.edu/~cwunsch/papersonline/workongencirc.pdf text 1998 ftciteseerx 2016-09-18T00:42:19Z A new estimate is made using altimeter data of the rate at which the wind works on the oceanic general circulation. The value of about 1 TW is lower than previously estimated and is dominated by the work done by the mean zonal wind in the Southern Ocean. The meridional component of the mean wind contributes primarily in the eastern upwelling regions of the ocean. Fluctuating component contributions are small. A comparison with the results of a numerical model produces both the same total work as well as the same general geographical patterns but with detailed differences. Both observations and model show that the subtropical gyres are regions where the atmosphere is braking the ocean circulation. The input of wind energy is shown to be qualitatively consistent with estimates of the rates of decay of barotropic and baroclinic mesoscale variability. If most of the energy input into the Southern Ocean is dissipated there, this region could be a dominant factor in mixing the global ocean. 1. Text Southern Ocean Unknown Southern Ocean |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Unknown |
op_collection_id |
ftciteseerx |
language |
English |
description |
A new estimate is made using altimeter data of the rate at which the wind works on the oceanic general circulation. The value of about 1 TW is lower than previously estimated and is dominated by the work done by the mean zonal wind in the Southern Ocean. The meridional component of the mean wind contributes primarily in the eastern upwelling regions of the ocean. Fluctuating component contributions are small. A comparison with the results of a numerical model produces both the same total work as well as the same general geographical patterns but with detailed differences. Both observations and model show that the subtropical gyres are regions where the atmosphere is braking the ocean circulation. The input of wind energy is shown to be qualitatively consistent with estimates of the rates of decay of barotropic and baroclinic mesoscale variability. If most of the energy input into the Southern Ocean is dissipated there, this region could be a dominant factor in mixing the global ocean. 1. |
author2 |
The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives |
format |
Text |
author |
Carl Wunsch |
spellingShingle |
Carl Wunsch 2332 JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL OCEANOGRAPHY VOLUME 28 NOTES AND CORRESPONDENCE The Work Done by the Wind on the Oceanic General Circulation |
author_facet |
Carl Wunsch |
author_sort |
Carl Wunsch |
title |
2332 JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL OCEANOGRAPHY VOLUME 28 NOTES AND CORRESPONDENCE The Work Done by the Wind on the Oceanic General Circulation |
title_short |
2332 JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL OCEANOGRAPHY VOLUME 28 NOTES AND CORRESPONDENCE The Work Done by the Wind on the Oceanic General Circulation |
title_full |
2332 JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL OCEANOGRAPHY VOLUME 28 NOTES AND CORRESPONDENCE The Work Done by the Wind on the Oceanic General Circulation |
title_fullStr |
2332 JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL OCEANOGRAPHY VOLUME 28 NOTES AND CORRESPONDENCE The Work Done by the Wind on the Oceanic General Circulation |
title_full_unstemmed |
2332 JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL OCEANOGRAPHY VOLUME 28 NOTES AND CORRESPONDENCE The Work Done by the Wind on the Oceanic General Circulation |
title_sort |
2332 journal of physical oceanography volume 28 notes and correspondence the work done by the wind on the oceanic general circulation |
publishDate |
1998 |
url |
http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.389.5433 http://ocean.mit.edu/~cwunsch/papersonline/workongencirc.pdf |
geographic |
Southern Ocean |
geographic_facet |
Southern Ocean |
genre |
Southern Ocean |
genre_facet |
Southern Ocean |
op_source |
http://ocean.mit.edu/~cwunsch/papersonline/workongencirc.pdf |
op_relation |
http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.389.5433 http://ocean.mit.edu/~cwunsch/papersonline/workongencirc.pdf |
op_rights |
Metadata may be used without restrictions as long as the oai identifier remains attached to it. |
_version_ |
1766206020044980224 |