9314198 Xue This project entails the study of air-sea interaction processes along the Gulf Stream front off the North Carolina coast using a three-dimensional ocean model and a two-dimensional (vertical slice) coupled atmosphere-ocean model. The work focuses on the following specific objectives: (1) an investigation of the evolution of the atmospheric and oceanic boundary layers associated with passing winter cyclones; (2) to determine the relationship between atmospherically induced oceanic motions and the regional oceanic features, with emphasis on the Gulf Stream meanders; (3) to demonstrate the air-sea coupling process during cold air outbreaks; and, (4) to quantify the feedback effects on the mesoscale and synoptic scale motions in the atmosphere and ocean.
