TITLE:
Shear in Pacific’s Wide Warm Surface Currents
AUTHORS:
Kern E. Kenyon
KEYWORDS:
Surface Current Dynamics, Horizontal Shear
JOURNAL NAME:
Natural Science,
Vol.11 No.8,
August
12,
2019
ABSTRACT: Within the two poleward wide warm surface
currents that cross mid-latitudes on the eastern sides of the North and South
Pacific Oceans, a single prediction is made that they have a horizontal
velocity shear such that their mean speeds monotonically increase from east to
west. This prediction is inspired mainly by a re-examination of the east/west
asymmetric observations previously documented: the longitudinal maximum in sea
surface temperature in the eastern parts of both oceans at mid-latitudes is
located significantly west of the region of maximum mixed layer depths, which
occur in the middle of these currents. Also the application of recent dynamical
considerations discussed below stimulated the prediction, which include the
application of Bernoulli’s law to streamlines in the flows as well as the
geostrophic balance in the cross-stream direction. These caused the rethinking
of an earlier explanation, which upon reflection now seems less suitable than
the present one.