Gyre-Scale Acoustic Tomography: Modeling Simulations

Abstract

Dep. Earth, Atmos. and Planet. Sci., Cent. Meteorol. and Phys. Oceanogr., Massachusetts Inst. Technol., Cambridge, MA 02139, USA J (Journal-Article) M (Marine) Ocean acoustic tomography was proposed by Munk and Wunsch as a method for making measurements of ocean variability over large areas. The tomography group has proposed a new experiment to be carried out in the Eastern Pacific Ocean, on ranges as long as the subtropical gyre scale. This paper addresses the question of which average quantities of importance for the ocean general circulation and ocean climate can be measured by tomography and with what accuracy. The paper focusses upon the following quantities: i) measurement of the heat content vertical profile horizontally averaged over a tomographic section; ii) time variability of the average heat content, or average pycnocline displacement, at different depths; iii) measurement of the average pycnocline slope at different dep...