Topographic influences in the California current system
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Authors
Chen, Ching-Yin
Subjects
topography
instability
barotropic
baroclinic
slope
escarpment
stable
unstable
instability
barotropic
baroclinic
slope
escarpment
stable
unstable
Advisors
Haney, R.L.
Date of Issue
1986-12
Date
Publisher
Language
en_US
Abstract
A ten-level primitive equation numerical model is used to study the influences of
the bottom topography in the California Current System. Five different numerical
experiments were integrated for 40 days after being initialized with a baroclinic alongshore
coastal jet representative of the observed coastal jet. By comparison with a flat
bottom case, in Experiments 1 and 3, in which the topographic slopes face westward or
northward, the topography appears to have stabilizing influences on the mean flow. In
Experiments 2 and 4, in which the topographic slopes face southward, the topographic B-effect appears to be strong enough so that these two cases have already reached a
quasi-steady state by 40 days. This is because in Experiments 2 and 4 the long, nondispersive
topographic Rossby waves are effective at transporting the eddy energy away
from the source region near the coast. The resulting new mean flow appears to be
stable.
Type
Thesis
Description
Series/Report No
Department
Oceanography
Organization
Naval Postgraduate School
Identifiers
NPS Report Number
Sponsors
Funder
Format
49 p.
Citation
Distribution Statement
Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.