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contributor authorStammer, Detlef
contributor authorBöning, Claus W.
date accessioned2017-06-09T14:50:20Z
date available2017-06-09T14:50:20Z
date copyright1992/07/01
date issued1992
identifier issn0022-3670
identifier otherams-27900.pdf
identifier urihttp://onlinelibrary.yabesh.ir/handle/yetl/4164957
description abstractCharacteristic of the mesoscale variability in the Atlantic Ocean are investigated by analyzing the Geosat altimeter signal between 60°S and 60°N. The rms sea-surface variability for various frequency bands is studied, including the high-frequency eddy-containing band with periods <150 days. Wavenumber spectra and spatial eddy characteristics are analyzed over 10° by 10° boxes covering both hemispheres of the Atlantic Ocean. A comparison, with solutions of a high-resolution numerical experiment, developed as the Community Modeling Effort of the World Ocean Circulation Experiment, aids interpretation of the Geosat results in the tropical and subtropical Atlantic and provides a test of the model fluctuating eddy field. Results from Geosat altimetry show a wavenumber dependence close to k1?5 (k1 being the alongtrack wave-number) over almost the entire Atlantic Ocean except for areas in the tropical and subtropical Atlantic where the rms variability in the eddy-containing band is less than 5 cm, that is, not significantly different from the altimeter noise level. Characteristic eddy length scales inferred from Geosat data are linearly related with the deformation radius of the first baroclinic mode over the whole Atlantic Ocean, except for the equatorial regime (10°S to 10°N). The data-model comparison indicates that the high-resolution model with horizontal grid size of ?° and ?° in latitude and longitude is quite capable of simulating observed eddy characteristics in the tropics and subtropics. In mid- and high latitudes, however, the model fails to simulate the pronounced poleward decrease in eddy scales. This leads to systematic discrepancies between the model and Geosat observation, with model scales being up to 50% larger than deduced from altimetry.
publisherAmerican Meteorological Society
titleMesoscale Variability in the Atlantic Ocean from Geosat Altimetry and WOCE High-Resolution Numerical Modeling
typeJournal Paper
journal volume22
journal issue7
journal titleJournal of Physical Oceanography
identifier doi10.1175/1520-0485(1992)022<0732:MVITAO>2.0.CO;2
journal fristpage732
journal lastpage752
treeJournal of Physical Oceanography:;1992:;Volume( 022 ):;issue: 007
contenttypeFulltext


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