Zonal jets over topography on a beta-plane, with applications to the Kuroshio Extension over the Shatsky Rise

Abstract

The response of an initially zonal barotropic or baroclinic jet to an isolated seamount or a meridional ridge is investigated here using a three-dimensional primitive equation model with a free surface. It is speculated that the 1979-80 anomalous bifurcation of the Kuroshio Extension far west of the Shatsky Rise may be a manifestation of barotropic upstream influences exerted by the rise. -from Author