Altimeter estimates of anomalous transports into the northern California Current during 2000-2002

Abstract

Surface transports into the California Current are calculated from TOPEX/POSEIDON altimeter surface height slopes during the 9.5 year period from October 1992-May 2002. These quantify the anomalous onshore and southward displacements of the water column during the 2000-2002 period, which had been hypothesized by others based on anomalous water properties observed in mid-2002 off Oregon. Anomalous eastward transport into the boundary between 52°-54°N occurred first (mid-2000 to mid-2001) followed by eastward transport into the boundary between 50°-52°N in 2001. Equatorward transports during 2001 and 2002 resulted in approximately 800 km of anomalous southward displacements during the 1.5 years prior to the anomalous observations off Oregon. This sequence suggests that both onshore and southward displacement anomalies off British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest contributed to the subarctic characteristics of the water observed off Oregon.