Contribution des DCP fixes et derivants a l'accroissement de la puissance de peche des navires de peche thoniere Auteur(s) : Le Gall, Jy Éditeur(s) : Pêche thonière et dispositifs de concentration de poissons, Caribbean-Martinique, 15-19 Oct 1999 Résumé : Tuna world fisheries yield 3 million tons per year; the increase rate of whole production is constant and sustained since 30 years. This original figure for marine fisheries is due to enlargement of tuna fleets and fishing grounds over all the world ocean, the continuous increase of tuna fishing power by in board equipment and remote sensing equipment for searching and scouting (on board, aircraft, satellite, telecommunication_). During the last 20 years, the log-associated tuna fishing has contributed to the local individual and tuna fleets efficiency and fishing power either for large industrial tuna seiners by radio-equipped buoys on natural (debris) or artificial man-made logs. The same trend is noted for numerous artisanal tuna and large pelagic coastal fisheries on moored fishing aggregating devices and networks. The first part of the paper is a review of data and results to assess and rank the "Surfaces prospected by in board tuna seiners and associated aircraft and satellite technics" (visual, radar, sar-radar and satellite altimetry sensors). The final objective is the comparison with the surfaces and volumes associated to fads. Since 20 years, tuna ecology and behaviour data from ultrasonic tagging (short-term depth/distance/time migration around logs and fads) are used for fishing of tuna associated with floating objects, namely fads. The second part of this paper is an "Assessment of fad's aggregating associated surface and volume" linked with oceanographic data: large oceanic geostrophic current and observed drift speed of radio-equipped fads in the Indian Ocean. Using the available data on fads, tuna fishing technology linked with oceanographic and biological data results from ultrasonic tuna tracking experiments, the paper is an attempt to identify and place the fads technology in the scale of tuna fishing devices as a contribution to the increase of tuna fishing power either individual tuna boat or tuna fleets.Original Abstract: La production mondiale des pecheries thonieres est actuellement de l'ordre de 3 millions de tonnes par an et conserve depuis pres de 50 ans un taux de croissance annuel soutenu. Cette croissance, exceptionnelle pour un secteur des peches maritimes, est due a plusieurs causes: accroissement des effectifs et des puissances de peche des grandes flottes thonieres industrielles oceaniques qui exploitent les ressources thonieres de l'ocean mondial et le developpement conjoint de nouvelles techniques de peche et de nouvelles technologies d'aide a la peche, telles que les dispositifs de concentration de poissons (DCP). L'accroissement de la puissance individuelle des navires est du au developpement de la construction navale (mecanisation, propulsion, hydraulique, conservation et traitement a borda) et a l'utilisation d'une gamme diversifiee d'aides a la peche : navigation, telecommunication, localisation des zones favorables, detection visuelle ou radiometrique assistee par equipement a bord, en helicoptere et avion, detection acoustique, detection par radar de bord, radar-avion ou, a terme, antenne SAR sur satellite. Plus recemment, soit depuis 20 ans, les caracteristiques du comportement, migration de court terme, agregation et concentration des poissons pelagiques, fixation et retention des bancs de thons, sont utilisees, par les dispositifs de concentration de poissons (DCP) ancres ou derivants. Cette contribution a pour objectif de situer et placer les DCP fixes ou derivants sur cet ensemble de techniques d'aide a la peche thoniere. Les donnees pour cet essai de classement sont d'ordres biologique, ethologique et comportementaux (amplitude de deplacement des thons et dimension de la sphere d'attraction d'un DCP) et d'ordres environnemental et oceanographique : masse d'eau concernee par un DCP dans une large veine de courant oceanique ou cotier. On tente de quantifier et d'ordonner les surfaces et les volumes prospectes par les thoniers et particulierement les volumes et masses d'eau exploites par les thoniers utilisant des DCP. Ce classement des DCP dans la serie des dispositifs d'aide a la peche thoniere facilitera l'appreciation de leur contribution a l'augmentation des puissances de peche des thoniers. Droits : info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00042/15297/12656.pdf http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00042/15297/ | Partager Voir aussi Attracting techniques Fishing power Fishing technology Remote sensing Tracking Tuna fisheries Ultrasonic devices Télécharger |
Altimetry combined with hydrography for ocean transport estimation Auteur(s) : Gourcuff, Claire Lherminier, Pascale Mercier, Herle Le Traon, Pierre-yves Éditeur(s) : Amer Meteorological Soc Résumé : A method to estimate mass and heat transports across hydrographic sections using hydrography together with altimetry data in a geostrophic box inverse model is presented. Absolute surface velocities computed from AVISO altimetry products made up of a combination of sea surface height measurements and geoid estimate are first compared to Ship Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (S-ADCP) measurements of the Ovide project along hydrographic sections repeated every 2 years in summer from Portugal to Greenland. The rms difference between S-ADCP and altimetry velocities averaged on distances of about a hundred km accounts to 3.3 cm s−1. Considering that the uncertainty of S-ADCP velocities is found at 1.5 cm s−1, altimetry errors are estimated at 3 cm s−1. Transports across Ovide sections previously obtained using S-ADCP data to constrain the geostrophic inverse box model are used as reference. The new method is found useful to estimate absolute transports across the sections, as well as part of their variability. Despite associated uncertainties about 50% larger than when S-ADCP is used, our results for the North Atlantic Current and heat transports, with uncertainties of 10 to 15%, reproduce the variability already observed. The largest uncertainties are found in the estimates of the East Greenland Irminger Current (EGIC) transport (30%), induced by larger uncertainties associated with altimetry data at the western boundary. Journal Of Atmospheric And Oceanic Technology (0739-0572) (Amer Meteorological Soc), 2011-10 , Vol. 28 , N. 10 , P. 1324-1337 Droits : 2011 American Meteorological Society http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00038/14921/13751.pdf DOI:10.1175/2011JTECHO818.1 http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00038/14921/ | Partager |
Variabilité de la salinité de surface d'après un modèle global de couche mélangée océanique Auteur(s) : Michel, Sylvain Éditeur(s) : Université Paris 7 Denis Diderot Résumé : Sea surface salinity (SSS) influences numerous oceanic phenomena, for instance surface water ventilation, deep water formation and thermohaline circulation. SSS also controls some ocean-atmosphere coupled processes, such as the intensity of freshwater flux and the penetration of heat flux and turbulence. Salinity is more difficult to measure than temperature from in situ surveys, which results in 20 times less data being currently available. Moreover, sea surface temperature (SST) is routinely estimated from satellites, which is not possible yet for SSS. Two space missions will fill this gap soon: SMOS from the European Space Agency and Aquarius/SAC-D from NASA and CONAE. To contribute to the SMOS project, we propose a method for estimating SSS from current satellite observations and for studying the mechanisms governing its variability. We developed a simplified model of the ocean mixed layer, based on the "slab mixed layer" formulation (Frankignoul et Hasselmann, 1977). This 2D horizontal model is implemented over the global ocean, using a near 100 km resolution, and integrated during a climatological year. Air-sea fluxes are taken from the ECMWF meteorological model (ERA40 reanalysis) and the surface currents are provided by altimeter data (SSALTO-DUACS analysis). The mixed layer depth (MLD) is derived from SST observations, using an original inversion technique. The MLD fields obtained from this inversion are well correlated to in situ estimates. This effective depth represents the air-sea fluxes penetration and ensures consistency between fluxes, les currents and SST. We first validate the simulation through examination of the heat balance in north-eastern Atlantic, by comparing to measurements and models from the POMME experiment. Then we study the salinity balance in the global domain, in terms of its geographical distribution and seasonal evolution. Equilibrium between the various processes appears generally more complex than for temperature. Noteworthy, the role of atmospheric flux is less predominant (22%), while geostrophic advection (33%) and diapycnal mixing (22%) contribute more strongly. Our results indicate this model succeeds in reconstructing SSS variability over most of the oceans. Daily SSS variations are also simulated, whereas they are not represented in current observed data at a global scale. Owing to its simplicity and fast computation, the model will be useful to the SMOS mission. It can help for the measurement calibration/validation and provide a first guess estimate to the sophisticated algorithm required for SSS restitution. La salinité de surface des océans (SSS) influence de nombreux phénomènes océaniques, parmi lesquels la ventilation des eaux de surface, la formation d'eaux profondes et la circulation thermohaline. Elle détermine aussi certains processus couplés océan-atmosphère, notamment l'intensité du flux d'eau douce, la pénétration du flux de chaleur et de la turbulence. La mesure in situ de salinité est plus compliquée que celle de température, si bien qu'on dispose actuellement de 20 fois moins de données pour cette propriété. De plus, la température de surface (SST) est couramment estimée par satellite, ce qui n'est pas encore le cas de la SSS. Deux missions spatiales vont prochainement combler cette lacune : le satellite SMOS de l'Agence Spatiale Européenne et le satellite Aquarius/SAC-D de la NASA et de la CONAE. En préparation du projet SMOS, nous proposons une méthode pour estimer la SSS à partir des observations satellitaires actuelles et étudier les mécanismes de sa variabilité. Nous avons développé un modèle simplifié de couche mélangée océanique, basé sur la formulation "slab mixed layer" (Frankignoul et Hasselmann, 1977). Ce modèle 2D horizontal est implémenté sur l'océan global, avec une résolution proche de 100 km, et intégré au cours d'une année climatologique. Les flux air-mer proviennent du modèle météorologique ECMWF (réanalyse ERA40) et les courants de surface sont issus de l'altimétrie (analyse SSALTO-DUACS). La profondeur de la couche mélangée (MLD) est dérivée des observations de SST, grâce à une technique d'inversion originale. La MLD obtenue par inversion est bien corrélée aux estimations basées sur des données in situ. Cette profondeur effective représente la pénétration des flux air-mer et assure la cohérence entre les flux, les courants et la SST. La simulation est d'abord validée en examinant le bilan de chaleur dans l'Atlantique Nord-Est, par comparaison aux mesures et aux modèles de l'expérience POMME. Puis le bilan de salinité est étudié dans le domaine global, en termes de distribution géographique et d'évolution saisonnière. L'équilibre entre les différents processus est généralement plus complexe que pour la température. Notamment, le rôle du flux atmosphérique est moins prépondérant (22%), tandis que l'advection géostrophique (33%) et le mélange diapycnal (22%) contribuent fortement. Nos résultats montrent que ce modèle parvient à restituer la variabilité de la SSS sur la majeure partie des océans. Le modèle simule aussi les variations journalières de SSS, qui ne sont pas représentées à l'échelle globale dans les observations actuelles. Grâce à sa simplicité et à sa rapidité, le modèle pourra être utile dans le cadre de SMOS. Il pourra aider à la calibration/validation de la mesure et fournir une estimation a priori pour l'algorithme complexe nécessaire à la restitution de la SSS. Droits : info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/2006/these-2302.pdf http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00000/2302/ | Partager Voir aussi SMOS SSS SST MLD heat balance Vertical entrainment Geostrophic current Air sea fluxes Satellite observations Mixed layer Télécharger |
Modelling and in-situ measurements of intense currents during a winter storm in the Gulf of Aigues-Mortes (NW Mediterranean Sea) Auteur(s) : Michaud, Héloise LEREDDE, Yann Estournel, C. BERTHEBAUD, Eric Marsaleix, Patrick Auteurs secondaires : Laboratoire d'aérologie - LA (LA) ; Université Paul Sabatier - Toulouse 3 (UPS) - Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS) - Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées (OMP) - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) Risques ; Géosciences Montpellier ; Université des Antilles et de la Guyane (UAG) - Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS) - Université de Montpellier (UM) - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) - Université des Antilles et de la Guyane (UAG) - Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS) - Université de Montpellier (UM) - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier Masson Résumé : While oceanic circulation in the Gulf of Lion (GoL) has often been studied in calm weather or with northerly winds (Tramontane or Mistral) through observations and numerical circulation models, few studies have focused on southeasterly storm events. Yet, correct representation of the circulation during storms is crucial if the suspension of sediments is to be correctly modelled throughout the Gulf. The purpose of this paper is to describe the hydrodynamics in the Gulf of Aigues-Mortes (NW of the GoL) during the storm of 18 February 2007 by using a set of data from an ADCP station placed at a depth of 65 m on the sea bed off the coast at Sète, supplemented by the ocean circulation model SYMPHONIE. This storm was characterized by a moderate south-easterly wind (15 m . s−1) and waves of up to 5 m of significant height at its apex. At the ADCP, strong currents of up to 0.8 m . s−1 near the surface and 0.5 m . s−1 near the bottom were recorded, parallel to the coast, flowing towards the south-west. The simulated currents were widely underestimated, even taking the effect of waves into account in the model. It was suspected that the representation of the wind in the atmospheric model was an underestimation. A new simulation was therefore run with an arbitrarily chosen stronger wind and its results were in much better agreement with the measurements. A simplified theoretical analysis successfully isolated the wind-induced processes, responsible for the strong currents measured during the apex and the strong vertical shear that occurred at the beginning of the storm. These processes were: 1/ the barotropic geostrophic current induced by a wind parallel to the coast and 2/ the Ekman spiral. The duration of the storm (about 36 h at the apex) explains the continuous increase of the current as predicted by the theory. The frictionally induced Ekman transport explains the current shear in the surface layer in the rising stage of the storm, and the addition of high waves and strong wind at the apex is more in favour of strong vertical mixing in the surface layer. ISSN: 1631-0713 hal-00908200 https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00908200 DOI : 10.1016/j.crte.2013.07.001 | Partager |
Hydrodynamics in the Gulf of Aigues-Mortes, NW Mediterranean Sea : In situ and modelling data. Auteur(s) : Leredde, Y. Denamiel, C. Brambilla, E. Lauer-Leredde, C. Bouchette, F. Marsaleix, P. Auteurs secondaires : Géosciences Montpellier ; Université des Antilles et de la Guyane (UAG) - Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS) - Université de Montpellier (UM) - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) Laboratoire d'aérologie - LA (LA) ; Université Paul Sabatier - Toulouse 3 (UPS) - Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS) - Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées (OMP) - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier Résumé : The Gulf of Aigues-Mortes (NW Mediterranean Sea) is a midshelf zone whose scale is an intermediate between the nearshore scale (0–10 m depth) and the coastal scale (including the whole continental shelf). Its hydrodynamics is investigated for the first time. ADCP, CTD and thermosalinograph data were collected during three short cruises (HYGAM; March 6–7, 20–21, April 5–6, 2005). They were scheduled approximately every 15 days to sample the gulf circulation under different weather conditions. Moreover, the cruise data were used to validate the Symphonie model, a 3D primitive equations circulation model. The circulation features displayed by in situ data were well reproduced by Symphonie. A downscaling modelling approach was implemented, the largest scale being obtained by the replay of the MFSTEP regional model of the North-Western Mediterranean Sea. The analysis, closely coupling in situ measurements and model results, provides information that would not have been obtained using data separately. The great variability of the oceanic circulation at this scale is well evidenced. Winds are the main forces, not only locally but also at a larger scale. North winds generate coherent structures interacting with the general Mediterranean circulation. The explanation of the induced currents is then not straightforward, some of them being, for example, northward. South and southeast winds reinforce the sloping surface, the latter allowing the geostrophic equilibrium with longshore currents. This study, focused on the end of winter 2004–2005, also enhances the heat fluxes from offshore to nearshore, as well as the initiation of shelf dense waters. The knowledge of the midshelf oceanic circulation is then applied to run a numerical experiment which describes both the dispersion of a fictive contaminant from a point S (at the centre of the GAM), and evaluates the risk of contamination of the beaches along the GAM shores. ISSN: 0278-4343 hal-00196620 https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00196620 DOI : 10.1016/j.csr.2007.06.006 | Partager |
Mean circulation of the upper layers of the western equatorial Pacific Ocean Auteur(s) : Gouriou, Yves Toole, J Éditeur(s) : Amer Geophysical Union Résumé : Hydrographic (0-1000 dbar) and direct current measurements (0-600 dbar) along 165-degrees-E (20-degrees-S-10-degrees-N) between January 1984 and July 1991 are used to investigate the mean circulation and its relationships with the distributions of salinity and potential vorticity on isopycnal surfaces. Less well documented mean sections along 142-degrees-E and 137-degrees-E are used to complement the 165-degrees-E analysis. The Equatorial Undercurrent is centered on the equator at 165-degrees-E and on 0.5-degrees-N at 142-degrees-E. No variation in its transport (15.0 x 10(6) m3 s-1) is found between those longitudes. We find indication of the Equatorial Undercurrent at 137-degrees-E-0.75-degrees-N in the geostrophic field. The northern and southern Subsurface Countercurrents are clearly identified by extrema of eastward velocity at 165-degrees-E around 3-degrees-N and 3-degrees-S (250 dbar). No evidence of a southern Subsurface Countercurrent is found at 142-degrees-E. At 137-degrees-E the northern Subsurface Countercurrent is not characterized by a local extrema of eastward velocity: the North Equatorial Countercurrent seems to extend from the surface to 400 dbar with a southward shift of its core. Analysis of the seasonal variability at 165-degrees-E indicates that the Equatorial Undercurrent transport increases by a factor 2 between January (10.7 x 10(6) m3 s-1) and July (21.5 x 10(6) m3 s-1) and the Equatorial Intermediate Current transport is halved (6.3 x 10(6) m3 s-1 in January, 3.5 x 10(6) m3 s-1 in July). hi contrast, the transport of the Subsurface Countercurrents does not vary substantially between those two months. The meridional distributions of salinity and potential vorticity show that the axes of the main eastward currents are associated with strong meridional property gradients, not with property extrema. The eastward currents thus represent a barrier to the northward extension of the high salinity Tropical Water. Relatively weak meridional gradients of salinity and potential vorticity are observed in the westward directed South Equatorial Current and Equatorial Intermediate Current. Journal Of Geophysical Research-oceans (0148-0227) (Amer Geophysical Union), 1993-12 , Vol. 98 , N. C12 , P. 22495-22520 Droits : 1993 by the American Geophysical Union. http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00192/30346/29190.pdf DOI:10.1029/93JC02513 http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00192/30346/ | Partager |
ENSO signals in the vicinity of New Caledonia, South Western Pacific Auteur(s) : Delcroix, T Lenormand, O Éditeur(s) : Gauthier-Villars Résumé : Data collected in an area enclosing New Caledonia are analysed both for the open ocean (17 degrees S-27 degrees S, 169 degrees E-170 degrees E; 1972-1992) and for one point in its lagoon (1967-1993), in order to improve our knowledge of the regional environment, with emphasis on seasonal and interannual (i.e. ENSO) variability. Long-term means and seasonal changes in surface wind, sea-surface temperature and salinity, and 0-400 m temperature, salinity and zonal geostrophic current are first described to Set the context. Through comparisons with the Southern Oscillation Index (SOI), it is demonstrated that there are signals in these parameters that are connected with ENSO. During the warm phase of ENSO (SOI < 0, El Nino), we observed saltier-than-average anomalies in sea-surface salinity (similar to 0.2), 0-50 m cold temperature anomalies (similar to 0.5 degrees C) contrasting with the well-known warm eastern equatorial Pacific anomalies, together with westerly (similar to 10 m(2) s(-2)) and southerly (similar to 4 m(2) s-2) wind anomalies over a large part of the studied area. Conversely, anomalies of similar magnitude but of opposite sign were detected during the cold phase of ENSO (SOI > 0; La Nina). The mechanisms which connect these regional anomalies to ENSO evolution at low-latitudes are qualitatively discussed. Oceanolica Acta (0399-1784) (Gauthier-Villars), 1997 , Vol. 20 , N. 3 , P. 481-491 Droits : info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00093/20410/18077.pdf http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00093/20410/ | Partager |
Global high-resolution mapping of ocean circulation from TOPEX/Poseidon and ERS-1 and-2 Auteur(s) : Ducet, N Le Traon, Pierre-yves Reverdin, Gilles Éditeur(s) : Amer Geophysical Union Résumé : This study focuses on the improved estimation of mesoscale surface ocean circulation obtained by merging TOPEX/Poseidon (T/P) and ERS-1 and -2 altimeter measurements between October 1992 and May 1998. Once carefully intercalibrated and homogenized, these data are merged through an advanced global objective analysis method that allows us to correct for residual long wavelength errors and uses realistic correlation scales of ocean dynamics, The high-resolution (0.25 degrees x 0.25 degrees) merged T/P + ERS-1 and -2 sea level anomaly maps provide more homogeneous and reduced mapping errors than either individual data set and more realistic sea level and geostrophic velocity statistics than T/P data alone. Furthermore, the merged T/P + ERS-1 and -2 maps yield eddy kinetic energy (EKE) levels 30% higher than maps of T/P alone. They also permit realistic global estimates of east and north components of EKE and their seasonal variations, to study EKE sources better. A comparison of velocity statistics with World Ocean Circulation Experiment surface drifters in the North Atlantic shows very good agreement. Comparison with contemporary current meter data in various oceanic regimes also produces comparable levels of energy and similar ratios of northward and eastward energy, showing that the maps are suitable to studying anisotropy. The T/P + ERS zonal and meridional components of the mapped currents usually present comparable rms variability, even though the variability in the Atlantic is more isotropic than that in the Pacific, which exhibits strong zonal changes. The EKE map presents a very detailed description, presumably never before achieved at a global scale. Pronounced seasonal changes of the EKE are found in many regions, notably the northeastern Pacific, the northeastern and northwestern Atlantic, the tropical oceans, and the zonally extended bands centered near 20 degrees S in the Indian and western Pacific Oceans and at 20 degrees N in the northwestern nl Pacific. Journal Of Geophysical Research-oceans (0148-0227) (Amer Geophysical Union), 2000-08 , Vol. 105 , N. C8 , P. 19477-19498 Droits : 2000 AGU http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00079/19033/16617.pdf DOI:10.1029/2000JC900063 http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00079/19033/ | Partager |
Sur les "upwellings" équatorial et côtier (5°N) dans le Golfe de Guinée Auteur(s) : Colin, C Éditeur(s) : Gauthier-Villars Résumé : The wind, temperature and current data collected during the joined French-USA FOCAL/SEQUAL programme carried in the equatorial Atlantic band in 1983 and 1984, allowed for the first time a simultaneous study of both the equatorial and coastal (5-degrees-N) upwellings along 4-degrees-W. At the equator, the decreases of both the surface temperature and the depth of the thermocline in boreal summer are correlated with the zonal component of the local windstress in the period band 1-2 months. This corresponds to the time required by the thermocline to lift up at 0-4-degrees-W in the presence of an easterly wind. The local wind cannot however explain the entire vertical variability of the thermal structure at 0-4-degrees-W. The correlation function shows in addition that the temperature there is highly correlated to the wind recorded at St Peter and St Paul Rocks (SPP) in the period band 0-2 months. This time scale is the one required by the Kelvin and Rossby waves to propagate along the equator through equatorial wave guide dynamics. The influence of these waves seems particularly important when considering the upward displacements of the thermocline both in February-March when the winds abruptly relax and in November-December when the wind at 0-4-degrees-W is southwesterly with no secondary negative maximum in the wind record at 1-degrees-N-29-degrees-W (SPP), contrary to the climatological wind field. The computation of the different terms of the heat equation applied to an homogeneous surface layer shows that the cooling is entirely due to vertical advection and eddy diffusion. The cooling would be more effective without the atmospheric heat flux and the horizontal advection of heat transported both by the South Equatorial Current at the surface and the southward current at the bottom of the mixed layer. At the coast, the amplitude and duration of the upwellings are not constant all along the coast: in boreal summer, they are maximum east of the two capes (Palmas and Three Pointes) while in winter the strength of the cooling is maximum in the east of Cape Palmas and then decreases eastward. The meridional slope of the thermocline off the coast concerns a distance which is much larger than the internal Rossby radius of deformation and is coherent with the latitudinal extension and intensity of the Guinea current both in summer and winter. In addition to this geostrophic adjustment, the upward tilt of the thermocline in summer is enhanced by the intensification of the component of the wind parallel to the coast. The application of a simple linear model forced with an eastward wind at that time explains the surface maximum cooling at the coast and the current distribution in both vertical and meridional directions. The two maxima of the zonal component of the Guinea current, in summer (main one) and in winter are in phase with the intensity of the vertical component of the windcurl. The application of the Sverdrup equations shows that the current speeds computed, for both seasons, are of the same order of magnitude as the speeds observed. Oceanologica Acta (0399-1784) (Gauthier-Villars), 1991 , Vol. 14 , N. 3 , P. 223-240 Droits : info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00101/21252/18865.pdf http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00101/21252/ | Partager |