Equatorial Pacific Ocean Current Instabilities

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This project is a component of a coordinated study called the Tropical Instability Waves Experiment (TIWE). The P.I. will deploy an array of four current measurement moorings, at the equator near longitude 140 deg W, instrumented with upward- looking Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers (ADCP), capable of profiling the near-surface currents with a high degree of vertical and temporal resolution. One thermistor chain mooring is also proposed. In collaboration with other TIWE components, and existing NOAA current and temperature moorings, the P.I. will attempt to calculate balances of momentum flux, Reynolds heat flux convergence, energy production by barotropic instability, and background current upwelling. Information on background mean currents will also be analyzed in terms of annual variability.