The near surface tropical Atlantic in 1982-1984 : results from a numerical simulation and a data analysis

Isotherm vertical displacements within the thermocline and surface currents were investigated in the tropical Atlantic Ocean from 12 degree N to 12 degree S in 1982-84, the period of the FOCAL-SEQUAL experiment. The study is based on a numerical simulation of an oceanic general circulation model tuned for the study of the equatorial regions, and on the analysis of the large scale thermocline displacements and currents using observed temperature profiles. Ground truth is provided by temperature and currents from moorings, records from inverted echo sounders and tide gauges as well as from drifting buoys. Comparison of the analysis with the ground truth shows that some important aspects of the low frequency variability are "captured" by the analysis when the data base is large enough.