Influence of Equatorial Dynamics on the Pacific North Equatorial Countercurrent*

The Pacific North Equatorial Countercurrent (NECC) is generally not well simulated in numerical models. In this study, the causes of this problem are investigated by comparing model solutions to observed NECC estimates. The ocean model is a general circulation model of intermediate complexity. Solutions are forced by climatological and interannual wind stresses, ( x , y ), from Florida State University and the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts. Estimates of the observed NECC structure and transport are prepared from expendable bathythermograph data and from the ocean analysis product of NOAA/National Centers for Environmental Prediction.