OC4331-Mesoscale Oceanography
Final Project Summary

Topic Area

California Current System (CCS) Filaments/Eddies

Project Team Member:

LT David Blencoe, USN

Major Findings

The CCS is not the quiescent, stable system of currents with a well-defined, unchanging structure.  It is made up of three major components; the California Current, the California Undercurrent and the Davidson Current.  The flow of these three currents make up the CCS and fluctuate greatly in both time and space. There exist mesoscale meanders, eddies, filaments and jet-like surface currents, which are superimposed on the large-scale flow.

The processes responsible for the generation and evolution of these intense and complex meander, eddy, and filament structures in the CCS have yet to be fully identified. A possible generation mechanism arises from the baroclinic and/or barotropic instability of the mean coastal CCS. Another generation mechanism for the observed features is wind forcing, which may be the most important mechanism for the generation of the currents as well as for the intense and complex meander, eddy, jet, and filament structures in the CCS. Coastal irregularities are another important mechanism for the generation of these mesoscale features and "anchor" upwelling and filaments as well as enhance growth of meanders and eddies.

This presentation takes a look at these forcing mechanisms in past, as well as current modeling studies.  Differenet boundaries and forcing mechanisms in current model runs are displayed to illustrate results of these studies and display just how dynamic the CCS is.

References:

•Batteen, M.L., Vance, P.W., 1998.  Modeling studies of the effects of wind forcing and thermohaline gradients on the California Current System.  Deep-Sea Research II 45, 1507-1556

•Schenk, F.M., 2000.  Effects of Thermohaline Gradients and the Columbia River Plume on the California Current System.  Proposed Thesis.

•Strub, T.P., Korso, P.M., Huyer, A., 1991.  The Nature of the Cold Filaments in the California Current System.  Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol 96 No C8, 14743-14768.

•Website:  http://www.oc.nps.navy.mil/fmschenk/thesis/wb_sb_nb/index.html

•Website:  http://www.oce.orst.edu/po/research/strub/index.html
 
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