Boundary Current Observations from Moorings in the Southern California Current

Since 2008, moorings have been deployed in the southern California Current as part of the CORC project (Consortium on the Ocean's Role in Climate), lead by Scripps Institution of Oceanography researches. For the period 2008-2012, these moorings measured the equatorward transport in the core of the California Current offshore of the Southern California Bight, as well as currents at depths down to the seafloor. The observational strategy is to measure density to high accuracy, and then to derive the currents through the assumption of geostrophy, with additional seafloor pressure measurements and satellite altimetry as aids to determine the reference level. Since 2012, the moorings have been operated in a different configuration that focuses on the poleward undercurrent and cross-shelf circulation. The mooring observations are part of an integrated strategy to describe the boundary current system, in concert with other observational techniques (gliders, XBT) and a data-assimilating numerical model that merges the observations into a state estimate. The presentation will focus on the mooring observations and show mean and variability of the currents. Among other things, the absolute mean vertical profile reveals the most appropriate depth for referencing shallow CTD or XBT data for California Current estimates, and comparison with altimeter-derived transports suggests how the time series can be extended to time periods both before and after that covered by the mooring observations.