The evolution of upper ocean thermal structure at 10°N, 125°W during 1997-1998

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Date
2003-09
Authors
Farrar, J. Thomas
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10°N, 125°W
DOI
10.1575/1912/2270
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Thermoclines
Ocean-atmosphere interaction
Roger Revelle (Ship) Cruise Genesis 4
Thomas G. Thompson (Ship) Cruise TN73
Melville (Ship) Cruise PACS03MV
Abstract
In this thesis I have endeavored to determine the factors and physical processes that controlled SST and thermocline depth at 10°N, 125°W during the Pan American Climate Study (PACS) field program. Analysis based on the PACS data set, TOPEX/Poseidon sea surface height data, European Remote Sensing satellite wind data, and model simulations and experiments reveals that the dominant mechanisms affecting the thermocline depth and SST at the mooring site during the measurement period were local surface fluxes, Ekman pumping, and vertical mixing associated with enhancement of the vertical shear by strong near-inertial waves in the upper ocean superimposed upon intra-seasonal baroclinic Rossby waves and the large scale zonal flow.
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Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution September 2003
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Farrar, J. T. (2003). The evolution of upper ocean thermal structure at 10°N, 125°W during 1997-1998 [Master's thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution]. Woods Hole Open Access Server. https://doi.org/10.1575/1912/2270
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