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Variability and forcing of the East Australian Current
Colorado Center for Astrodynamics Research, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado, USA
Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA
Colorado Center for Astrodynamics Research, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado, USA
The spatial and temporal variability of the East Australian Current (EAC) is investigated using 6 years (1993–1998) of surface geostrophic stream function from an optimal interpolation of altimeter sea surface heights and velocities derived from tracking thermal features in satellite imagery. Variability appears as a series of cyclones and anticyclones propagating southwestward and westward with periods between 90 and 180 days. The behavior of the variability changes over the 6 years. Energy in the mesoscale frequencies moves slowly south and diminishes with more westward propagation in the region where the current separates from the coast. We find no evidence for a consistent forcing of the EAC by mesoscale signals propagating westward from the South Pacific basin. We suggest that the observations are consistent with variability originating between 32°S and 35°S through intrinsic instabilities of the current.
Received 17 June 2004; accepted 26 January 2005; published 23 March 2005.
Citation: (2005), Variability and forcing of the East Australian Current, J. Geophys. Res., 110, C03019, doi:10.1029/2004JC002533.
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