Abstract
The major observational programmes aimed at exploring the three-dimensional mesoscale eddy structure of the oceans were performed outside the equatorial regions. Experimental sites were chosen in the tropics at latitudes higher than 10° (Koshlyakov and Monin 1978) or at mid-latitudes (MODE Group, 1978; Robinson 1980). There exist, however, some XBT (Expendable Bathythermograph) sections through the equatorial belts that were obtained for studying mesoscale structures. In addition experiments with other objectives were performed in the tropics, such as GATE (Siedler and Woods 1980, Philander and Duing 1980) in the Atlantic. We will check here whether some of these experiments can supply useful information on mesoscale structures in the tropical regions. The available data are not sufficiently complete to differentiate between eddy and wave dynamics, but it will be shown that the kinematic properties of fluctuations are consistent with eddies outside the equatorial belt.
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