Abstract
Velocities near the surface of the ocean have been measured directly and can often be estimated indirectly by ship drift or dead reckoning. The large number of determinations of the flow of surface waters has resulted in charts (e.g., Dietrich, 1963) that provide a reasonably good picture of the average surface circulation. The same cannot be said of the flow of deep water, where direct measurements in the same location yield velocities that reverse direction in a month or two and have amplitudes that may exceed the expected mean by a factor of 100 or more. Since the prospect of determining the mean velocity directly is therefore not feasible, oceanographers have had to turn to indirect methods based on property distributions that are apparently steady or that change only slowly with time.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Bunker, A. F., 1976. Computations of surface energy flux and annual air-sea interaction cycles of the North Atlantic Ocean. Monthly Weather Review, 104, 1122–1140.
CSIRO, 1962. Oceanographic observation in the Pacific Ocean in 1960. H.M.A.S. Gascoyne Cruises G 1/60 and G 2/60. Aust. Ocean Cruise Rep. 5.
Defant, A., 1941. Die absolute Berechnung ozeanischer Ströme nach dem dynamischen Verfahren. Annalen der Hydrographie und Martitimen Meteorologie, 69, 169–173.
Defant, A., 1961. Physical Oceanography 1. Pergamom Press, New York, 729 pp.
Dietrich, G., 1963. General Oceanography. Interscience, J. Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, 588 pp.
Fiadeiro, M. E. and G. Veronis, 1982. On the determination of absolute velocities in the ocean. J. Mar. Res., 40 (supplement), 159–182.
Fiadeiro, M. E. and G. Veronis, 1983. Circulation and heat flux in the Bermuda Triangle. J. Phys. Ocean., 13, 1158–1169.
Hidaka, K., 1940. Absolute evaluation of ocean currents in dynamical calculations. Proc. Imp. Acad. Japan, 8, 391–393.
Hoerl, A. E. and R. W. Kennard, 1970. Ridge regression: applications to non-orthogonal problems. Technometrics, 12, 69–82.
Lanczos, C., 1961. Linear Differential Operators. Van Nostrand Co., London, 564 pp.
Niiler, P. P. and W. S. Richardson, 1973. Seasonal variability of the Florida Current. J. Mar. Res., 31, 144–167.
Niiler, P. P. and W. S. Richardson, 1974. Reply. J. Mar. Res., 32, 534–535.
Richardson, W. S., W. J. Schmitz and P. P. Niiler, 1969. The velocity structure of the Florida Current from the Strait of Florida to Cape Fear. Deep-Sea Res., 16 (supplement), 225–231.
Roemmich, D., 1979. The application of inverse methods to problems in ocean circulation. Ph.D.Thesis. MIT/WHOI, 192 pp.
Stommel, H., 1956. On the determination of the depth of no meridional motion. Deep-Sea Res., 3, 273–278.
Stommel, H. and G. Veronis, 1981. Variational inverse method for study of oceanic circulation. Deep-Sea Res., 28A, 1147–1160.
Thompson, R. and G. Veronis, 1980. Transport calculations in the Tasman and Coral seas. Deep-Sea Res., 27, 303–323.
UNESCO, 1981. Tenth report of the joint panel on oceanographic tables and standards. UNESCO technical papers in marine science, 36.
Wiggins, R. A., 1972. The general linear inverse problem: implication of surface waves and free oscillations for earth structure. Rev. of Geophys. and Space Physics, 10, 251–285.
Worthington, L. V., 1976. On the North Atlantic Circulation. The John Hopkins Oceanographic Studies, 6, 110 pp.
Wunsch, C., 1977. Determining the general circulation of the oceans: A preliminary discussion. Science, 196, 871–875.
Wunsch, C., 1978. The general circulation of the North Atlantic west of 50°W determined from inverse methods. Rev. of Geophys. and Space Physics, 16, 583–620.
Wunsch, C. and B. Grant, 1982. Towards the general circulation of the North Atlantic Ocean. Progress in Oceanogr., 11 1–59.
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1987 Springer-Verlag New York Inc.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Veronis, G. (1987). Inverse Methods for Ocean Circulation. In: Abarbanel, H.D.I., Young, W.R. (eds) General Circulation of the Ocean. Topics in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-4636-7_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-4636-7_3
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-4612-9093-3
Online ISBN: 978-1-4612-4636-7
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive