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

Abstract

The response of the equatorial and South American coastal ocean circulation to the anomalous March 2002 wind jet extending from the Gulf of Panama to 6° S is studied in a linear ocean model. Two experiments were performed: one without continental boundaries and the other with an eastern boundary at 81° W, representing the American continent. The spatial and temporal structure of the imposed wind anomaly, represented with idealized mathematical functions, is similar to that of the real jet. The duration of the wind jet was six days where the maximum intensity occurred at the third day. The results of the experiments indicate that the wind-jet anomaly over the Gulf of Panama is another source of ocean waves that influence the western coast of South America in the form of coastal Kelvin waves (CKW).