Can the subtropical North Atlantic permanent thermocline be observed from space?
The analysis of remotely sensed altimeter data and in situ measurements shows that ERS 2 radar can monitor the ocean permanent thermocline from space. The remotely sensed sea level anomaly data account for similar to 2/3 of the temperature variance or vertical displacement of isotherms at a depth of...
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ftplymouthml:oai:plymsea.ac.uk:1730 2023-05-15T17:28:34+02:00 Can the subtropical North Atlantic permanent thermocline be observed from space? Pingree, RD Kuo, Y-H Garcia-Soto, C 2002 application/pdf http://plymsea.ac.uk/id/eprint/1730/ http://plymsea.ac.uk/id/eprint/1730/1/JMBA82%285%29p709.pdf http://www.journals.cambridge.org/jid_MBI https://doi.org/10.1017/S0025315402006094 en eng http://plymsea.ac.uk/id/eprint/1730/1/JMBA82%285%29p709.pdf Pingree, RD; Kuo, Y-H; Garcia-Soto, C. 2002 Can the subtropical North Atlantic permanent thermocline be observed from space?. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 82 (5). 709-728. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0025315402006094 <https://doi.org/10.1017/S0025315402006094> Oceanography Publication - Article PeerReviewed 2002 ftplymouthml https://doi.org/10.1017/S0025315402006094 2022-09-13T05:46:32Z The analysis of remotely sensed altimeter data and in situ measurements shows that ERS 2 radar can monitor the ocean permanent thermocline from space. The remotely sensed sea level anomaly data account for similar to 2/3 of the temperature variance or vertical displacement of isotherms at a depth of similar to 550 m in the Subtropical North Atlantic Ocean near 32.5 degree N. This depth corresponds closely to the region of maximum temperature gradient in the permanent thermocline where near semi-annual internal vertical displacements reach 200 to 300 m. The gradient of the altimeter sea level anomaly data correlates well with measured ocean currents to a depth of 750 m. It is shown that observations from space can account for similar to 3/4 of the variance of ocean currents measured in situ in the permanent thermocline over a 2-y period. The magnification of the permanent thermocline displacement with respect to the displacement of the sea surface was determined as - x650 and gives a measure of the ratio of barotropic to baroclinic decay scale of geostrophic current with depth. The overall results are used to interpret an eight year altimeter data tie series in the Subtropical North Atlantic at 32.5 degree N which shows a dominant wave or eddy period near 200 days, rather than semi-annual and increases in energy propagating westward in 1995 (west of 25 degree W). The effects of rapid North Atlantic Oscillation climate change on ocean circulation are discussed. The altimeter data for the Atlantic were Fourier analysed. It is shown how the annual and semi-annual components relate to the seasonal maximum cholorophyll-a SeaWiFS signal in tropical and equatorial regions due to the lifting of the thermocline caused by seasonally varying ocean currents forced by wind stress. Article in Journal/Newspaper North Atlantic North Atlantic oscillation Plymouth Marine Science Electronic Archive (PlyMSEA - Plymouth Marine Laboratory, PML) Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 82 5 709 728 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Plymouth Marine Science Electronic Archive (PlyMSEA - Plymouth Marine Laboratory, PML) |
op_collection_id |
ftplymouthml |
language |
English |
topic |
Oceanography |
spellingShingle |
Oceanography Pingree, RD Kuo, Y-H Garcia-Soto, C Can the subtropical North Atlantic permanent thermocline be observed from space? |
topic_facet |
Oceanography |
description |
The analysis of remotely sensed altimeter data and in situ measurements shows that ERS 2 radar can monitor the ocean permanent thermocline from space. The remotely sensed sea level anomaly data account for similar to 2/3 of the temperature variance or vertical displacement of isotherms at a depth of similar to 550 m in the Subtropical North Atlantic Ocean near 32.5 degree N. This depth corresponds closely to the region of maximum temperature gradient in the permanent thermocline where near semi-annual internal vertical displacements reach 200 to 300 m. The gradient of the altimeter sea level anomaly data correlates well with measured ocean currents to a depth of 750 m. It is shown that observations from space can account for similar to 3/4 of the variance of ocean currents measured in situ in the permanent thermocline over a 2-y period. The magnification of the permanent thermocline displacement with respect to the displacement of the sea surface was determined as - x650 and gives a measure of the ratio of barotropic to baroclinic decay scale of geostrophic current with depth. The overall results are used to interpret an eight year altimeter data tie series in the Subtropical North Atlantic at 32.5 degree N which shows a dominant wave or eddy period near 200 days, rather than semi-annual and increases in energy propagating westward in 1995 (west of 25 degree W). The effects of rapid North Atlantic Oscillation climate change on ocean circulation are discussed. The altimeter data for the Atlantic were Fourier analysed. It is shown how the annual and semi-annual components relate to the seasonal maximum cholorophyll-a SeaWiFS signal in tropical and equatorial regions due to the lifting of the thermocline caused by seasonally varying ocean currents forced by wind stress. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Pingree, RD Kuo, Y-H Garcia-Soto, C |
author_facet |
Pingree, RD Kuo, Y-H Garcia-Soto, C |
author_sort |
Pingree, RD |
title |
Can the subtropical North Atlantic permanent thermocline be observed from space? |
title_short |
Can the subtropical North Atlantic permanent thermocline be observed from space? |
title_full |
Can the subtropical North Atlantic permanent thermocline be observed from space? |
title_fullStr |
Can the subtropical North Atlantic permanent thermocline be observed from space? |
title_full_unstemmed |
Can the subtropical North Atlantic permanent thermocline be observed from space? |
title_sort |
can the subtropical north atlantic permanent thermocline be observed from space? |
publishDate |
2002 |
url |
http://plymsea.ac.uk/id/eprint/1730/ http://plymsea.ac.uk/id/eprint/1730/1/JMBA82%285%29p709.pdf http://www.journals.cambridge.org/jid_MBI https://doi.org/10.1017/S0025315402006094 |
genre |
North Atlantic North Atlantic oscillation |
genre_facet |
North Atlantic North Atlantic oscillation |
op_relation |
http://plymsea.ac.uk/id/eprint/1730/1/JMBA82%285%29p709.pdf Pingree, RD; Kuo, Y-H; Garcia-Soto, C. 2002 Can the subtropical North Atlantic permanent thermocline be observed from space?. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 82 (5). 709-728. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0025315402006094 <https://doi.org/10.1017/S0025315402006094> |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1017/S0025315402006094 |
container_title |
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom |
container_volume |
82 |
container_issue |
5 |
container_start_page |
709 |
op_container_end_page |
728 |
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1766121322123886592 |