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A review of research on mesoscale ocean currents
Author(s) -
McWilliams James C.
Publication year - 1979
Publication title -
reviews of geophysics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 8.087
H-Index - 156
eISSN - 1944-9208
pISSN - 8755-1209
DOI - 10.1029/rg017i007p01548
Subject(s) - mesoscale meteorology , ocean gyre , geostrophic wind , geology , boundary current , ocean current , oceanography , current (fluid) , geostrophic current , climatology , geophysics , subtropics , fishery , biology
Mesoscale ocean currents, for the purposes of this review, are defined as currents in the middle and high latitudes, in the mid‐ocean, of low frequency (i.e., with time scales* greater than or comparable to 10 5 s, which is long compared to the inverse of the Coriolis frequency), and of intermediate spatial scale* (i.e., horizontal scales from tens to hundreds of km). They are geostrophic currents of type 1 in the nomenclature of Phillips (1963). Excluded, therefore, from this review are the following topics: equatorial currents, coastal currents, surface, bottom, and lateral turbulent boundary layers, ageostrophic flow, gyre‐scale transience, seasonal cycles, and the general circulation of the ocean. This review is intended primarily as a record of published contributions on this subject since the last such review written in 1974 (Robinson, 1975), with a broad topical catagorization.