Accession Number:

ADA067259

Title:

Satellite Oceanography of Eastern Boundary Currents and its Implications to ASW.

Descriptive Note:

Special rept.,

Corporate Author:

SACLANT ASW RESEARCH CENTRE LA SPEZIA (ITALY)

Personal Author(s):

• Stevenson,Robert E.

Report Date:

1978-11-01

Pagination or Media Count:

27.0

Abstract:

The characteristics of western boundary currents are better known than those along the eastern edges of oceans. In the 1970s, however, close attention has been given to eastern boundary currents. The variability of the El Nino phenomenon off Peru, and coastal upwelling off Oregon, PeruChile, and Northwest Africa, have been studied by multi-national teams. Since 1975, U.S. Navy personnel and scientists sponsored by the Office of Naval Research have examined satellite imagery of the waters off California and Western Europe as a first step in real-time satellite oceanography. From these studies, we know now that eastern boundary currents have identifiable fronts such as the Huelva front and eddies like the Socal eddy chain that vary seasonally and inter-annually in intensity and scale. The fronts have lengths of tens of kilometres and depths of hundreds of metres the eddies have diameters of 50 to 200 km and depths greater than 500 m. Both the eddies and fronts have surface temperature gradients of 1.5 C to 5 C. Deeper, the temperature gradients tend to be sharper than those at the surface. The data are useful therefore in solving tactical ASW problems.

Descriptors:

• *COASTAL REGIONS
• *OCEAN CURRENTS
• *OCEANOGRAPHIC DATA
• *SCIENTIFIC SATELLITES
• TEMPERATURE GRADIENTS
• VISIBLE SPECTRA
• PHOTOGRAPHIC ANALYSIS
• ITALY
• UNDERWATER ACOUSTICS
• INFRARED SPECTRA
• EDDY CURRENTS
• UPWELLING

Subject Categories:

• Physical and Dynamic Oceanography
• Unmanned Spacecraft

Distribution Statement:

APPROVED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE