Scientists reveal presence of ocean current 'stripes'

More than 20 years of continuous measurements and a dose of “belief” yield discovery of subtle ocean currents that could dramatically improve forecasts of climate, ecosystem changes

A worldwide crisscrossing pattern of ocean current striations has been revealed through measurements made by drifting buoys over a period of more than 20 years and through satellite readings of... Click here for more information.

An international collaborative of scientists led by Peter Niiler, a physical oceanographer at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego, and Nikolai Maximenko, a researcher at the International Pacific Research Center, University of Hawaii, has detected the presence of crisscrossing patterns of currents running throughout the world’s oceans. The new data could help scientists significantly improve high-resolution models that help them understand trends in climate and marine ecosystems.

The basic dimensions of these steady patterns called striations have slowly been revealed over the course of several research papers by Niiler, Maximenko and colleagues. An analysis by Maximenko, Niiler and colleagues appearing today in the journal Geophysical Research Letters has produced the clearest representation of these striated patterns in the eastern Pacific Ocean to date and revealed that these complex patterns of currents extend from the surface to at least depths of 700 meters (2,300 feet). The discovery of similarly detailed patterns around the world is expected to emerge from future research.

Niiler credits the long-term and comprehensive ocean current measurements made over more than 20 years by the Global Drifter Program, now a network of more than 1,300 drifting buoys designed by him and administered by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for detecting these new current patterns on a global basis. Niiler added that the foresight of the University of California to provide long-term support to scientists was crucial to the discovery.