The Barotropic Oceanic Response to Atmospheric Forcing in the Central North Pacific during 1986-87

For eleven months beginning in the summer of 1986, the BEMPEX project observed the barotropic response of the ocean to atmospheric forcing in the Central North Pacific near 42N, 160W. The barotropic component of flow was isolated by using horizontal electric field recorders and bottom pressure gauges; deploying a spatial array of sensors allowed the oceanic response to be described in both frequency and wavenumber domains. Information about atmospheric forcing in this region was obtained from FNOC wind and surface pressure fields for a three year period centered on the BEMPEX interval.