Circulation Studies of the California Current System from Direct Velocity Observations

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Studies of the circulation and energetics of the California Current System (CCS) off central and southern California will be carried using the extensive set of ocean current measurements from shipboard acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) observations made on the quarterly cruises of the California Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investigations (CalCOFI) from 1993 to 2003, together with additional measurements including hydrography, surface drifters, and satellite altimetry. By exploiting the sampling strengths of the various datasets, features of the circulation will be revealed that are not resolved by most historical measurements. The significance of these features can also be ascertained due to the repeated nature of the sampling. This proposal will focus on addressing three questions about the CCS off southern and central California for which direct velocity observations are essential: 1) the seasonal and inter-annual variability of the flow at 500 m (the traditional zero velocity surface used by most hydrographic studies of the region); 2) the structure and dynamics of the Undercurrent, the Southern California Eddy and the variable inshore flows, and their role in the heat and nutrient budgets of the CCS; and 3) the mesoscale eddy field, its seasonal and inter-annual variability, its energetics, and its role in establishing property distributions.