9522092 Luther This project will investigate the oceanic response to wind forcing in the vicinity of islands. It is expected that Island Trapped Waves (ITW) will be an important part of this response at periods of days to weeks. Existing sea level, current meter, and weather observations will be used in the examination of the kinematics, structure, and dynamics of ITW around the Hawaiian Islands. Analytical models of increased complexity will be used to elucidate basic physical principles. Existing numerical models, modified to include topography of increasing realism, will be used for simulation. ITW are expected to transmit energy over long distances, contribute to local upwelling and downwelling, and perturb deeper flows. Thus, an improved understanding of ITW would benefit shipping and fisheries, and improve predictions of contaminant dispersal in the vicinity of islands. The project is particularly timely due to the increased scope of the data sets now available for analysis. ***
