National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration
United States Department of Commerce


 

FY 1993

Trade wind fetch related variations in Equatorial Undercurrent depth, speed, and transport

McPhaden, M.J.

J. Geophys. Res., 98(C2), 2555–2559, doi: 10.1029/92JC02683 (1993)


A dynamical model is developed to examine the dependence of Equatorial Undercurrent depth, speed, and volume transport on trade wind fetch. The model ocean is linear, continuously stratified, vertically diffusive, and formulated on the equatorial beta plane. Analytical solutions are derived in closed form. For realistic choices of model parameters, results indicate that the undercurrent would be significantly shallower and weaker in the Atlantic than in the Pacific because of the shorter Atlantic trade wind fetch.




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