Termination of an Equatorial Jet in a Gulf

Abstract

Motivated by the observed branching of the Equatorial Undercurrent in the Gulf of Guinea, an idealized model is developed here to examine the termination of an equatorial jet in a gulf. Similarity solutions are, found that can satisfy the boundary conditions along an idealized gulf coast and hence represent realistic flow fields. It is found that friction tends to retard the northern branch, resulting in a southward flow at the equator, and that as the incident jet intensifies, the cross-equatorial flow is increasingly prohibited, resulting in a greater return flow within the gulf.