Nature 308, 698 - 705 (19 April 1984); doi:10.1038/308698a0

Dynamics of the oceanic general circulation: the potential vorticity field

W. R. Holland^*, T. Keffer^† & P. B. Rhines^†

^*National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado 80307, USA
^†Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543, USA

The general circulation of the oceans is determined by vorticity, temperature and salinity. The theory of large-scale circulation puts a strong constraint on the fields of potential vorticity, q. New calculations and observations of the North Atlantic and North Pacific, using the field of potential vorticity as a point of comparison, reveal strong similarities. In particular, the observations can be modelled by gyres around which geostrophic contours deform to follow the circulation and within which q is uniform. The effects of injected waters with relatively low potential vorticity are significant.

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