Sea Level across North Pacific’s Wide Warm Surface Current ()
ABSTRACT
Sea level across the wide warm
northeastward current off California is calculated from hydrographic data along
35N using the hydrostatic balance and the assumption that the warm mixed layer
water floats on the colder stratified water underneath. It is found that the
sea level is higher above the warm water by a maximum of 7 cm in the middle of
the flow. However, the mean east/west slope of the sea surface is deduced to be
too small to balance the Coriolis force on the northward current. Therefore,
geostrophy, as it is usually understood, is not operating strictly within the
surface layer itself.
Share and Cite:
Kenyon, K. (2019) Sea Level across North Pacific’s Wide Warm Surface Current.
Natural Science,
11, 267-269. doi:
10.4236/ns.2019.119027.
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