OC4331-Mesoscale Oceanography
Final Project Summary

Topic Area

California Current System (CCS) Filaments/Eddies

Project Team Member(s)

LT Travis Clem, USN

Major Findings

The California Current System is comprised of the equatorward flowing California Current (CC), the poleward flowing California Undercurrent (CU), and the poleward flowing Davidson Current or Inshore Countercurrent (IC), which is present only seasonally.  The CC structure and its effects on eddy formation will be discussed here.  The CC is not a stable flow that stays in one location as a river is.  It migrates onshore and offshore throughout the year.

Strub and James (1997) utilized satellite altimetry data to show the migration of the CC and the subsequent formation of eddies and meanders.  During the July 2006 Operational Oceanography Cruise conducted by the Naval Postgraduate School, under the guidance of Curt Collins and Tarry Rago, data was collected that illustrates the presence of the CC jet and also apparent eddies.  The points taken between San Francisco and Monterey, CA resulted in three cross-sections of SST, velocity, Salinity, Density, and Chlorophyll.  This data definitely shows the CC and the CU.  Additionally, the velocity fields highlight the presence of eddies.

schematic of ocean features in California Current
Figure 1. The classic understanding of the CCS (Borrowed from Paduan).


References

Strub, P.T., and C. James, 2000: Altimeter-derived variability of surface velocities in the California Current System: 2. Seasonal circulation and eddy statistics. Deep-Sea Res., 47, 831-870.

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