We examine large-scale atmospheric behavior around the time of the spring and fall transitions in the coastal ocean off the west coast of North America. Records of adjusted sea level (ASL), coastal wind stress, sea level atmospheric pressure (SLP), and 500-mbar heights for the years 1971-1975 and 1980-1983 are analyzed....
The four components of the long-term annual mean net surface heating of the tropical Pacific Ocean between 30°N and 40°S are calculated and portrayed. These flux elements were derived by using the bulk formulas and about 5 million marine weather reports for the years 1957–76. In addition to illustrating the...
A 5-year time series of coastal zone color scanner imagery (1980-1983, 1986) is used to examine
changes in the large-scale pattern of chlorophyll pigment concentration coincident with the spring
transition in winds and currents along the west coast of North America. The data show strong
interannual variability in the timing...
Seasonal cycles of coastal wind stress, adjusted sea level (ASL), shelf currents, and water
temperatures off the west coast of North America (35°N to 48°N) are estimated by fitting annual and
semiannual harmonics to data from 1981-1983. Longer records (9-34 years) of monthly ASL indicate
that these two harmonics adequately...
Past measurements off the coast of central Oregon and Washington have shown that the rapid change
from northward monthly mean winter winds to southward summer winds forces a "spring transition" of
the coastal ocean: sea levels and temperatures drop, and mean surface currents shift from northward to
southward. Current and...
A numerical model has been used to investigate the wind-driven circulation in a stratified basin of
moderate size, Lake Tahoe, California-Nevada. Two types of circulation are identified: "direct" circulations,
in which the current directions remain relatively constant and the mean circulation formed over
several days resembles the instantaneous circulation, and...