EPIC2001 AXCP/AXCTD/AXBT data

This page will show progress from the AXCP/AXCTD/AXBT data as it is being processed.
You can view a PDF of our AGU2002 Fall meeting poster here.
You can view the draft technical report (postscript) here.

Below are some plots.

a)September PATHFINDER SST climatology in the EPAC with TAO moorings shown as yellow circles. b)The flight track of the AXCP (blue stars) and AXCTD (red squares) grid. c)The flight track along the 95W transect with AXCP (blue stars), AXCTD (red squares), and AXBT (green triangles). a)Temperature and b)salinity profiles averaged over the 13-20 Sept period from the R/V Brown (blue) and the WP-3D (red). The standard deviation of the the AXCTD profiles are give as red dashed lines.

Equatorial temperature transects along 95W from a) R/V Brown (1-4 Oct) b) WC-130J (2,9,10 Oct) flights and c) the mapping errors between a) and b). The black boxes respresent postitions of the measurements and the color bar represents temperatures (a,b) and temperature differences (c). Objectively analyzed mixed layer temperatures (C:color), depths (m) and integrated mixed layer currents (arrows) composited from a) mid-September (13, 16, 20 Sept) and b) early October (3,5,6,7 Oct) over the warm pool of the eastern Pacific Ocean from the ITCZ flights.

Horizontal velocity profiles (u:green, v:blue) and temperature (T:red) to 1200 m from an AXCP deployed on a) 5 Oct and b) 7 Oct 2001 research flights. c) Current (Du,Dv) and temperature (DT) differences between the two profiles. Difference fields of the ocean mixed layer temperature (color contours) and depths (contours) with integrated mixed layer currents from 5 Oct (gray arrows) and 7 Oct 2001 (black arrows) superposed.

Surface winds on 6 Oct 2001 at 12:13 UTC observed with QuikSCAT, wind barbs are superposed over wind speed (color contours) (courtesy of M.H. Freilich and B.A. Vanhoff). Nearsurface winds from GPS sondes on 5 Oct (gray arrows) and 7 Oct 2001 (black arrows). Of particular interest is the convergence of near-surface wind in the southern portion of the grid. GPS sondes indicate that the convergence is stronger on 7 Oct compared to 5 Oct.

Three dimensional depiction of observations acquired during a grid flight (010916I). Upper panel shows GPS sonde observations with wind depicted as vectors and Theta_e (K) shown in color. OML depth from ocean profilers is in black contours. Lower panel shows currents from AXCPs depicted as vectors with temperature (C) shown in color. Geostrophic flow superposed on mean dynamic height from Sept 13,16 and 20.

Geostrophic flow superposed on mean dynamic height from Oct 3,5 and 7. Comparison of the vertical profile of the dynamic height between the R/V Brown, TAO moorings and expendable profiles from Sept 13,16 and 20 at 12N95W,10N95W,and 8N95W (left column) and from Oct 3,5 and 7 (right column).

Geostrophic flow superposed on mean dynamic height animation.


a)September PATHFINDER SST climatology in the EPAC with TAO moorings shown as yellow circles. b)The flight track of the AXCP (blue stars) and AXCTD (red squares) grid. c)The flight track along the 95W transect with AXCP (blue stars), AXCTD (red squares), and AXBT (green triangles).	a)Temperature and b)salinity profiles averaged over the 13-20 Sept period from the R/V Brown (blue) and the WP-3D (red). The standard deviation of the the AXCTD profiles are give as red dashed lines.

Equatorial temperature transects along 95W from a) R/V Brown (1-4 Oct) b) WC-130J (2,9,10 Oct) flights and c) the mapping errors between a) and b). The black boxes respresent postitions of the measurements and the color bar represents temperatures (a,b) and temperature differences (c).	Objectively analyzed mixed layer temperatures (C:color), depths (m) and integrated mixed layer currents (arrows) composited from a) mid-September (13, 16, 20 Sept) and b) early October (3,5,6,7 Oct) over the warm pool of the eastern Pacific Ocean from the ITCZ flights.

Horizontal velocity profiles (u:green, v:blue) and temperature (T:red) to 1200 m from an AXCP deployed on a) 5 Oct and b) 7 Oct 2001 research flights. c) Current (Du,Dv) and temperature (DT) differences between the two profiles.	Difference fields of the ocean mixed layer temperature (color contours) and depths (contours) with integrated mixed layer currents from 5 Oct (gray arrows) and 7 Oct 2001 (black arrows) superposed.

Surface winds on 6 Oct 2001 at 12:13 UTC observed with QuikSCAT, wind barbs are superposed over wind speed (color contours) (courtesy of M.H. Freilich and B.A. Vanhoff).	Nearsurface winds from GPS sondes on 5 Oct (gray arrows) and 7 Oct 2001 (black arrows). Of particular interest is the convergence of near-surface wind in the southern portion of the grid. GPS sondes indicate that the convergence is stronger on 7 Oct compared to 5 Oct.

Three dimensional depiction of observations acquired during a grid flight (010916I). Upper panel shows GPS sonde observations with wind depicted as vectors and Theta_e (K) shown in color. OML depth from ocean profilers is in black contours. Lower panel shows currents from AXCPs depicted as vectors with temperature (C) shown in color.	Geostrophic flow superposed on mean dynamic height from Sept 13,16 and 20.

Geostrophic flow superposed on mean dynamic height from Oct 3,5 and 7.	Comparison of the vertical profile of the dynamic height between the R/V Brown, TAO moorings and expendable profiles from Sept 13,16 and 20 at 12N95W,10N95W,and 8N95W (left column) and from Oct 3,5 and 7 (right column).

Geostrophic flow superposed on mean dynamic height animation.