Numerical study of the response of the ocean to a northerly wind jet in the equatorial Eastern Pacific

摘要

The response of the equatorial and South American coastal ocean circulationto the anomalous March 2002 wind jet extending from the Gulf of Panama to 6° Sis studied in a linear ocean model. Two experiments were performed: onewithout continental boundaries and the other with an eastern boundary at81° W, representing the American continent. The spatial and temporalstructure of the imposed wind anomaly, represented with idealizedmathematical functions, is similar to that of the real jet. The duration ofthe wind jet was six days where the maximum intensity occurred at the thirdday. The results of the experiments indicate that the wind-jet anomaly overthe Gulf of Panama is another source of ocean waves that influence thewestern coast of South America in the form of coastal Kelvin waves(CKW).