(Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 1978-08)
Leetmaa, Ants; Bunker, Andrew F.
From the wind stress computation of Bunker (1976) for the North Atlantic, the annual mean
and seasonal vertical velocities which result from convergences in the Ekman Layers are computed.
Charts of the geostrophic and total transport (geostrophic plus Ekman) are constructed
using the Sverdrup relationship. Of particular interest are an intense current leaving the coast
at the point where the Gulf Stream separates and a cyclonic gyre north of the Stream in this
area. Good agreement exists between the computed features of the large scale circulation patterns
and the observed ones. Close correspondence exists between the predicted and observed
paths of the Gulf Stream; separation from the coast occurs at the maxima in the wind stress.
