Effects of bottom topography and density stratification on the formation of western boundary currents. II. Inflow-outflow model.:Part II: Inflow-Outflow Model

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The formation processes of western boundary currents in a two-layer ocean with continental shelf and slope are studied numerically. The ocean is forced by a prescribed inflow-outflow through the eastern boundary, instead of by the wind stress. Three case studies for the inflow-outflow conditions: isostatic, barotropic and baroclinic inflow-outflow cases, are discussed. The isostatic inflow-outflow leads to an isostatic steady-state flow, as has been examined for a wind-driven, two-layer, general circulation in Part I (MIURA and SUGINOHARA, 1980). For the barotropic inflow-outflow case, displacements of the interface are generated on the slope, and the pattern of the interface displacements spreads to the western boundary. A portion of the energy carried by the barotropic R ssby waves from the interior region crosses the slope. A concentrated poleward undercurrent is formed in the lower layer on the slope. The baroclinic inflow-outflow induces a transport on the slope, which forms an anticyclonic vortex over the shelf and slope in the subtropical gyre. The anticyclonic vortex is composed of a bottom trapped, equatorward lower layer flow on the slope and upper layer flows on the shelf. In each case, the flow pattern of the upper layer for a quasi-steady state seems to be unaffected by the bottom topography.<BR>An explanation of the remarkable increase in transport of the western boundary current in HOLLAND (1973) is given.
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