Circulation Studies of the California Current System from Direct Velocity Observations

加州中部和南部海流系统(CCS)的环流和能量学研究将使用从1993年至2003年在加州合作海洋渔业调查(CalCOFI)季度巡航上进行的船上声学多普勒海流剖面仪(ADCP)观测的广泛海流测量，以及包括水文测量、表面漂移物和卫星测高在内的其他测量。通过利用各种数据集的抽样强度，环流的特征将被揭示，这些特征是大多数历史测量无法解决的。由于抽样的重复性质，也可以确定这些特征的重要性。这项建议将着重解决关于加州南部和中部附近CCS的三个问题，对此直接速度观测是必不可少的：1)500米处水流的季节和年际变化(该地区大多数水文学研究使用的传统零速度面)；2)暗流、南加州涡和可变近岸流动的结构和动力学，及其在CCS热量和营养收支中的作用；3)中尺度涡旋场、其季节和年际变化、能量及其在确定属性分布方面的作用。

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.