Ekman transport in the South Atlantic Ocean

Ekman transport is an important component of ocean circulation. The wind driven circulation of the upper ocean has a mayor influence in mass and heat transport in the ocean. Even when its effects over the circulation are well known, the direct quantitative testing of this theroy seems to be very difficult. In this work we use the wind stress data from NCEP to estimate the Ekman transport and pumping on a basin scale to study Ekman's theory in the Atlantic Ocean. We also use wind data measured in the ship along the ship track between Cape Town and Rio de Janeiro.

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