Mesoscale spatial and temporal variations of water mass characteristics in the California current region off Monterey Bay in 1973-1974

Abstract

Continuous salinity and/or temperature profiles were made off the coast of Monterey Bay monthly between August 1973 and August 1974 and on a spatial grid finer than is conventionally used. A procedure is described to convert the data from analog to digital form, process these data on an IBM 360 computer, and print out the results by station for each month. The results show water mass features of small spatial scale detectable only because of the small grid spacing. A gyre or filament structure is suggested by the north to south variation between lines of stations. The extent of the area of survey is insufficient to describe completely the water mass structure on both the eastern and western boundaries; however, the temporal variation in the observed water mass structure is consistent with the three oceanographic seasons described for the California Current system. Elements of relatively cold water and relatively warm water masses are identified in the area of survey.