Observations of superinertial and near-inertial wind-driven flow

Abstract

The superinertial and near-inertial wind-driven flow in the western North Atlantic is examined using data from two recent experiments. The Frontal Air-Sea Interaction Experiment (FASINEX) took place at 27°N, 70°W during 1986. The Long-Term Upper-Ocean Study (LOTUS) took place at 34°N, 70°W during 1982. Each experiment included moored measurements of meteorological variables that allowed estimation of the wind stress and oceanic currents. The directly wind-driven flow is found to rotate to the left (right) for clockwise (counterclockwise) rotating superinertial wind stress, in agreement with the solution of the time-dependent Ekman spiral. -from Authors