ROW: Currents and Energetics of the North Pacific: A Synthesis of Existing Current Meter Data

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Current meter data from 26 long-term moorings in the North Pacific Ocean will be analyzed. Moorings located in the Kuroshio Extension will be used to "profile" that current, following a method developed by the P.I., and applied to the Gulf Stream. This method can be used to deduce velocity and temperature structure, as well as mass transports of the current. Results will be compared for different alongstream locations, as well as with analogous results for the Gulf Stream. Other investigations include: 1. Attempts to determine the nature of the energy balance involved in the downstream decay of mean kinetic energy flux in the Kuroshio Extension; 2. Determination of eddy kinetic and potential energy budgets for the entire North Pacific region covered by the moorings; 3. Identification of possible instability mechanisms occurring in the region via their energetic signatures.