Abstract
Abstract A three-dimensional ocean circulation model is used to study circulation and month-to-month variability in the western Caribbean Sea. The domain covers the area between 72° and 90°W and between 8° and 24°N, with a horizontal resolution of roughly 18 km. The western Caribbean Sea model is forced by the monthly mean Comprehensive Ocean–Atmosphere Data Set (COADS) wind stress and surface heat flux and monthly mean volume transports through the model open boundaries calculated by a (1/3)° Atlantic Ocean model. The model sea surface salinity is restored to the monthly mean climatology. The semiprognostic method suggested by Sheng et al. is used to reduce the model errors by assimilating the hydrographic data into the momentum equations. The model reproduces many well-known circulation features in the region, including the warm and persistent throughflow known as the Caribbean Current, the highly variable Panama–Colombia Gyre, and moderate seasonal variations of temperature and salinity in the surface ...
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