Updated charts of the mean annual wind stress, convergences in the Ekman layers, and Sverdrup transports in the North Atlantic

Abstract

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.