Connotea
CiteULike
del.ico.us
BibSonomyAbstract
Equatorial Undercurrent and North Equatorial Countercurrent at 38°W: A new perspective from direct velocity data
Divisão de Modelagem e Desenvolvimento, Centro de Previsão de Tempo e Estudos Climáticos, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais, Cachoeira Paulista, São Paulo, Brazil
Divisão de Modelagem e Desenvolvimento, Centro de Previsão de Tempo e Estudos Climáticos, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais, Cachoeira Paulista, São Paulo, Brazil
Divisão de Modelagem e Desenvolvimento, Centro de Previsão de Tempo e Estudos Climáticos, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais, Cachoeira Paulista, São Paulo, Brazil
The western Equatorial Undercurrent (EUC) and North Equatorial Countercurrent (NECC) are investigated at 38°W using contemporaneous subsurface (ADCP) and high-resolution near-surface (drifters + satellite altimeter) velocity measurements, together with hydrographic (CTDO2) data that were collected from 1998 to 2006. The observations reveal an EUC with a strong semiannual pattern of intensification. Direct measurements also confirm the existence of a northern branch of the NECC (nNECC), observed here for the first time in the western tropical Atlantic. The NECC displays an annual cycle of northward migration on the basin, driven by the Sverdrup transport generated by the wind field. In this cycle the nNECC is a semipersistent feature fed by waters from the Northern Hemisphere and the residual nNECC flow from the previous year.
Received 13 March 2007; accepted 28 December 2007; published 30 April 2008.
Citation: (2008), Equatorial Undercurrent and North Equatorial Countercurrent at 38°W: A new perspective from direct velocity data, J. Geophys. Res., 113, C04041, doi:10.1029/2007JC004215.
Cited By