Large-Scale Sea Level Response to Atmospheric Forcing along the West Coast of North America, Summer 1973

Abstract

Abstract Along the west Coast of North America, the response of sea level to fluctuations in alongshore wind stress at large alongshore scales (> 1000 km) accounted for a substantial faction of the total sea level variance during summer 1973. Space-time contour plots of sea level and alongshore stress show that the response of sea level to poleward propagating wind stress events was generally stronger than the response to equatorward propagating events. Atmospheric forcing was most effective in two regions along the coast, with relatively strong forcing and response along northern California and Oregon, and somewhat weaker forcing and response along northern Baja California. The forced fluctuations in sea level propagated poleward away from these forcing regions, causing local sea level to be most correlated with alongshore wind stress earlier in time and at a distant equatorward 1ocation. Along the southern and central California coast, fluctuation in sea level were partly forced along northern Baja Cali...