Observations of the velocity response to wind forcing in the upper ocean

Abstract

The response of the horizontal velocity field to forcing by the local wind was observed in the upper 150 m of the ocean by profiling with vector measuring current meters from the Research Platform Flip as it drifted off the coast of California in January 1977. In the mixed layer, approximately 50 m deep, motion at frequencies lower than 0.1 cph was coherent with the wind stress. Rotary cross spectral analysis showed that the shear in the surface layer was related to the local wind stress and that the structure of the response at low frequencies was similar to but did not agree completely with the predictions of simple linear, eddy viscosity models.