It is shown that the life cycles of nonlinear mesoscale eddies, a major component of low-frequency ocean
physical variability, have a characteristic structure that differs fundamentally from that which would be expected
on the basis of classical interpretations of ocean eddy evolution in terms of mean flow instability and equilibration...
Intensified diurnal tides are found along portions of the Oregon shelf (U.S. West Coast) based on analyses
of high-frequency (HF) radar surface current data and outputs of a 1-km resolution ocean circulation model.
The K₁ tidal currents with magnitudes near 0.07 m s⁻¹ over a wider part of the shelf...
In this study, uncoupled and coupled ocean–atmosphere simulations are carried out for the California Upwelling System to assess the dynamic ocean–atmosphere interactions, namely, the ocean surface current feedback to the atmosphere. The authors show the current feedback, by modulating the energy transfer from the atmosphere to the ocean, controls the...
In situ observations of tidally driven turbulence were obtained in a small channel that transects the crest of the Mendocino Ridge, a site of mixed (diurnal and semidiurnal) tides. Diurnal tides are subinertial at this latitude, and once per day a trapped tide leads to large flows through the channel...
Turbulent bottom Ekman layers are among the most important energy conversion sites in the ocean. Their energetics are notoriously complex, in particular near sloping topography, where the feedback between cross-slope Ekman transports, buoyancy forcing, and mixing affects the energy budget in ways that are not well understood. Here, the authors...
Moored observations are used to investigate the seasonal change in vertical structure of the cross-shelf
circulation at a midshelf location in the northern California Current System. A streamwise–normal coordinate
system is employed to eliminate meander- and eddy-induced biases in the cross-shelf flow that are unaccounted
for with an alternative, commonly...
During fall/winter off the Oregon coast, oceanographic surveys are relatively scarce because of rough
weather conditions. This challenge has been overcome by the use of autonomous underwater gliders deployed
along the Newport hydrographic line (NH-Line) nearly continuously since 2006. The discharge from the
coastal rivers between northern California and the...
The evolution of the near-inertial internal wavefield from ice-free summertime conditions to ice-covered wintertime conditions is examined using data from a yearlong deployment of six moorings on the Beaufort continental slope from August 2008 to August 2009. When ice is absent, from July to October, energy is efficiently transferred from...
A new theory of shear instability in a turbulent environment is applied to eight days of velocity and density profiles from the upper-equatorial Pacific. This period featured a regular diurnal cycle of surface forcing, together with a clear response in upper-ocean mixing. During the day, a layer of stable stratification...
Previous observations and simulations suggest that an approximate 3°–5°C warming occurred at intermediate depths in the North Atlantic over several millennia during Heinrich stadial 1 (HS1), which induces warm salty water (WSW) lying beneath surface cold freshwater. This arrangement eventually generates ocean convective available potential energy (OCAPE), the maximum potential...