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Wind stress and near‐surface shear in the equatorial Atlantic Ocean
Author(s) -
Wenegrat Jacob O.,
McPhaden Michael J.,
Lien RenChieh
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1002/2013gl059149
Subject(s) - wind stress , geology , turbulence modeling , shear stress , wind shear , shear (geology) , wind gradient , mechanics , turbulence , geophysics , surface stress , thermal wind , meteorology , atmospheric sciences , wind speed , oceanography , surface (topology) , physics , geometry , mathematics , petrology
The upper ocean response to wind stress is examined using 8 months of unique near‐surface moored velocity, temperature, and salinity data at 0°N, 23°W in the equatorial Atlantic. The effects of wind stress and shear on the time‐varying eddy viscosity are inferred using the surface shear‐stress boundary condition. Parameterizations of eddy viscosity as a function of wind stress and shear versus wind stress alone are then examined. In principle, eddy viscosity should be proportional to the inverse shear, but how it is represented implicitly or explicitly can affect estimates of the near‐surface flow field. This result may explain some discrepancies that have arisen from using parameterizations based only on wind stress to characterize the effects of turbulent momentum mixing.