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<p>The knowledge of the ocean environment, especially its littoral/coastal  waters, is important for current and future naval operations. In particular,  an accurate description of the mesoscale variability of the surface and  subsurface currents is essential for optimizing Navy missions. This study  determines that different types of topographic smoothing and the addition of a  volume constraint to a sigma-coordinate model significantly influences the  generation, evolution, and maintenance of not only the surface and subsurface  currents, but also other features (upwelling, meanders, eddies, filaments,  Mediterranean Outflow, and Meddies) in the Northern Canary Current System  (NCCS). The NCCS is chosen for this study for its classical upwelling and  equatorward surface current as well as the unique impact of the Mediterranean  Outflow. The sound speed structure of these features is examined to establish  which regions of the NCCS experience the largest changes in sound speed and  the most intense gradients. This study demonstrates that features of classic  littoral/coastal eastern boundary current systems, like the NCCS, have an  important impact on the sound speed structure which can significantly impact  Navy sonar operations.
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<br>Subjects: Oceanography; Eddies; Ocean currents; Meteorology</div>
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Hopkins, Alicia A.</div>
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