2D Central California/ Monterey Bay 



Robert C. Wrigley 



Ames Research Center/ NASA 

 Moffett Field, California 



and 



William W. Broenkow 



Moss Landing Marine Laboratory 

 Moss Landing, California 



The California Current is an eastern boundary current characterized by 

 half-knot southerly drift, punctuated by mesoscale eddies and coastal jets. 

 Coastal upwelling occurs along the central California coast, usually 

 during the spring and summer (March through July) due to Ekman 

 divergence caused by persistent northwesterly winds. A transition period 

 (August through October) of weaker winds marks the end of the strongest 

 coastal upwelling. Between November and February the occurrence of 

 periodic southerly winds causes a surface convergence along the coast and 

 promotes northerly surface flow within 50 km of shore (the Davidson 

 Current or California Countercurrent). 



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