GEOL1100, Spring 2013

Global Physical/Descriptive Oceanography, or Notions for the Motions of the Oceans

Assignment 5, Due 4/18/13

This assignment revisits Gyre and Geostrophic flow basics.

  1. Descriptive Physical Oceanography, 7th ed. Chapter 7, SP7
  2. Ocean Circulation, 2nd ed. Chapter 3.

Homework Assignment (Due 4/18)

  1. Sverdrup transport rate: Suppose the westerly (eastward) wind stress in 0.1 N/m2 at 40N and linearly decreases with latitude to -0.05 N/m^2 at 10N. Use matlab to calculate the wind stress CURL and Coriolis parameter, and beta (df/dy) at latitudes 10N, 20N, 30N, 40N. Calculate the Sverdrup transport, which is the vertical integral of the meridional velocity, forced only by f wE (i.e., neglect bottom drag). All relevant formulas are on the Gyres by pressure slides. You may calculate beta by hand (i.e., do the derivative of f) or by discrete formula, but be careful that y is measured in distance, not latitude. Thus, dy for 10 degrees is 10/360*circumference of earth.
  2. Download the ECCO data. Plot a x,z section of v. Plot a section of v*cross-sectional area of each gridcell. Plot a section of dv/dz. Plot a section of phihyd. Plot a section of rhoanom.
  3. Sum up v*crosssectionalarea in z. This will be in units of Sverdrups per longitudinal gridcell. Make a line plot vs x. Does the result make sense when you think about Sverdrup?