Large Scale Forcing and Oceanic Response

This is a final report on the research project "Large Scale Forcing and Oceanic Response". The objective of the program was to examine the coupling between the atmosphere, the oceanic mixed layer, and the interior of the ocean on large scales in the eastern North Atlantic. To accomplish th...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Weller, Robert A., Spall, Michael A.
Other Authors: WOODS HOLE OCEANOGRAPHIC INSTITUTION MA DEPT OF OCEAN ENGINEERING
Format: Text
Language:English
Published: 1998
Subjects:
Physical and Dynamic Oceanography
Meteorology
*OCEAN SURFACE
*AIR WATER INTERACTIONS
METEOROLOGICAL DATA
MARINE ATMOSPHERES
OCEANOGRAPHIC DATA
MIXED LAYER(MARINE)
MARINE CLIMATOLOGY
NORTH ATLANTIC OCEAN
WIND STRESS
THERMOCLINES
SUBDUCTION
North Atlantic
Online Access:http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/ADA339381
http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?&verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA339381
Description
Summary:This is a final report on the research project "Large Scale Forcing and Oceanic Response". The objective of the program was to examine the coupling between the atmosphere, the oceanic mixed layer, and the interior of the ocean on large scales in the eastern North Atlantic. To accomplish this field work was done in the eastern North Atlantic to: 1) make high quality, direct observations at widely spaced surface moorings in the Subduction and ASTEX (Atlantic Stratocumulus Transition Experiment) region of the surface forcing (wind stress and buoyancy flux) fields; 2) observe the oceanic velocities and temperatures at these sites, resolving the vertical structure of the upper ocean and its temporal variability over two annual cycles; 3) collect sufficient information about the surface forcing and upper ocean structure at sites between the moorings to allow extrapolation over the whole Subduction region of the description of the mixed layer response to atmospheric forcing; 4) observe at a site central to Subduction the response of the thermocline and the interior of the ocean as well as of the mixed layer. Analyses and modeling work followed the field work with the goals of examining air-sea interaction on a large scale, looking particularly at the convergence of mass and heat in the mixed layer associated with basin-scale gradients in atmospheric forcing and the resultant pumping of the interior of the ocean.

Similar Items