Available on this page are the current month's FNMOC (Fleet Numerical Meteorology and Oceanography
Center) 6-hourly analyzed pressure fields on a 360 by 181 global spherical grid (1-degree), and Air/Ocean indices computed from this
pressure. These can be subsetted, visualized, and downloaded in a variety of formats.
Please note that these products are calculated differently
than the standard historical products on our home page (see links to calculation details below). These new pages are attempt to improve our products, and are
currently still under development. We will continue to maintain the old product
in order to provide a consistent time series for our long-time users.
Air/Ocean Indices Computed from 6-hr Sea Level Pressure
(Global Upwelling Index data group on LAS)
Global values of the following
quantities have been calculated from the current month's six-hourly 1-degree sea level pressure fields,
and can be subsetted, visualized, and downloaded in a variety of formats.
- Pressure, mean sea level
- N-S and E-W components of geostropic wind
- Geostropic wind vector and magnitude
- N-S and E-W components of geostropic wind stress
- Geostropic wind stress vector and curl
- N-S and E-W components of Ekman transport
The standard PFEL procedures have been used in the calculation, with the following exceptions:
- Derivatives are computed on a 1-degree mesh length rather than 3-degree. Details
- The drag coefficient used in computing wind stress is a function of wind speed rather
than a constant. Details
- GMT time is used when calculating means rather than local time as was done in the historical products
For details on the standard procedures PFEL uses to compute upwelling index, please see:
- Schwing, F. B., O'Farrell, M., Steger, J., and Baltz, K., 1996: Coastal Upwelling Indices,
West Coast of North America 1946 - 1995,NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS-SWFSC-231
- The PFEL home page
