Near-Surface Shear Flow in the Tropical Pacific Cold Tongue Front*

Near-surface shear in the Pacific cold tongue front at 2°N, 140°W was measured using a set of five moored current meters between 5 and 25 m for nine months during 2004–05. Mean near-surface currents were strongly westward and only weakly northward (∼3 cm s−1). Mean near-surface shear was primarily westward and, thus, oriented to the left of the southeasterly trades. When the southwestward geostrophic shear was subtracted from the observed shear, the residual ageostrophic currents relative to 25 m were northward and had an Ekman-like spiral, in qualitative agreement with an Ekman model modified for regions with a vertically uniform front. According to this “frontal Ekman” model, the ageostrophic Ekman spiral is forced by the portion of the wind stress that is not balanced by the surface geostrophic shear. Analysis of a composite tropical instability wave (TIW) confirms that ageostrophic shear is minimized when winds blow along the front, and strengthens when winds blow oblique to the front. Furthermore, the magnitude of the near-surface shear, both in the TIW and diurnal composites, was sensitive to near-surface stratification and mixing. A diurnal jet was observed that was on average 12 cm s−1 stronger at 5 m than at 25 m, even though daytime stratification was weak. The resulting Richardson number indicates that turbulent viscosity is larger at night than daytime and decreases with depth. A “generalized Ekman” model is also developed that assumes that viscosity becomes zero below a defined frictional layer. The generalized model reproduces many of the features of the observed mean shear and is valid both in frontal regions and at the equator.

Validation and Error Analysis of OSCAR Sea Surface Currents

Comparisons of OSCAR satellite-derived sea surface currents with in situ data from moored current meters, drifters, and shipboard current profilers indicate that OSCAR presently provides accurate time means of zonal and meridional currents, and in the near-equatorial region reasonably accurate time variability (correlation = 0.5–0.8) of zonal currents at periods as short as 40 days and meridional wavelengths as short as 8°. At latitudes higher than 10° the zonal current correlation remains respectable, but OSCAR amplitudes diminish unrealistically. Variability of meridional currents is poorly reproduced, with severely diminished amplitudes and reduced correlations relative to those for zonal velocity on the equator. OSCAR’s RMS differences from drifter velocities are very similar to those experienced by the ECCO (Estimating the Circulation and Climate of the Ocean) data-assimilating models, but OSCAR generally provides a larger ocean-correlated signal, which enhances its ratio of estimated signal over noise. Several opportunities exist for modest improvements in OSCAR fidelity even with presently available datasets.

Mesoscale variability in the Bransfield Strait region (Antarctica) during Austral summer

The Bransfield Strait is one the best-known areas of Antarctica's oceanic surroundings. In spite of this, the study of the mesoscale variability of its local circulation has been addressed only recently. This paper focuses on the mesoscale structure of local physical oceanographic conditions in the Bransfield Strait during the Austral summer as derived from the BIOANTAR 93 cruise and auxiliary remote sensing data. Moreover, data recovered from moored current meters allow identification of transient mesoscale phenomena.