Donguy Jean-René, Meyers G. (1996). Mean annual variation of transport of major currents in the tropical Pacific Ocean. Deep-Sea Research : Part 1, 43 (7), p. 1105-1122. ISSN 0967-0637.
Titre du document
Mean annual variation of transport of major currents in the tropical Pacific Ocean
Année de publication
1996
Type de document
Article
Auteurs
Donguy Jean-René, Meyers G.
Source
Deep-Sea Research : Part 1, 1996,
43 (7), p. 1105-1122 ISSN 0967-0637
Expendable bathythermograph (XBT) data and the climatological temperature/salinity relationship were used to calculate the mean annual cycle of dynamic height and geostrophic transport of major currents relative to 400 db along five shipping tracks covering a large part of the tropical Pacific Ocean. The data were selected in bands centered on the most frequently repeated XBT tracklines for the period 1967-1988. Long-term bimonthly mean temperature was calculated in 1° latitude bins along the tracks. The transport function (vertically integrated dynamic height) was then calculated using the mean temperature/salinity relationship. The mean annual cycle of transport of the North Equatorial Current (NEC), the North Equatorial Countercurrent (NECC) and the South Equatorial Current (SEC) (south of 2.5°S) were determined between the ridges and troughs of the transport function. The stochastic errors in bimonthly mean transports were 1-2 Sverdrups on the most sampled tracks. Mean transports of the NEC and NECC increase regularly with longitude from east to west. The NECC has a large annual cycle with a transport-maximum during northern fall and winter. Seasonal variations of the NEC are small. Seasonal variations of the SEC are slightly larger, and they have considerably different phase from track to track. The variation of thermal structure associated with the currents is described. The results of this study are compared in detail to the results of earlier studies of the transports. The differences between the studies are larger than the expected stochastic errors in the mean transports due to differences in the definition of boundaries of the currents and to differences in the procedure for calculating the mean annual variation. The results of all the studies are summarised to facilitate future comparisons to ocean general circulation models and other applications. (Résumé d'auteur)
Plan de classement
Milieux physico-chimique [032MILPHY]
Descripteurs
CIRCULATION OCEANIQUE ; COURANT MARIN ; TEMPERATURE DE SURFACE ; SALINITE ; CORRELATION ; VARIATION ANNUELLE ; ANALYSE STATISTIQUE
