Sea surface temperatures simulated with the three-dimensional Los Alamos
global ocean model are displayed using CMAVS. Warm temperatures are in
red, while colder water is shown in deep blue. Continents and islands are black.
Warm waters in the tropical Pacific and Atlantic Oceans are apparent, and
upwelling of cooler water (green color) is evident along the Peruvian coast.
Warm water is being transported poleward in Gulf Stream along the east coast of
North America; the time-dependent meandering of the Gulf Stream can be
clearly seen in movies we have made. Another interesting time-dependent
feature that is prominent in the viewgraph is the progression of waves in the
tropical Pacific. These are known as "20-40 day waves" due to their travel time across the Pacific. They have been observed in satellite measurements of sea surface temperature. The spatial resolution is 0.5! in latitude and longitude with 20 vertical levels, which is fine enough to begin to resolve mesoscale ocean eddies.
