Georges Bank Winds: 1975–1997

Twenty-three years (1975–1997) of anemometer records from the four NOAA buoys located near Georges Bank are examined. While the individual buoy records have occasional gaps due to instrument breakdowns and the buoys deployments were limited to certain years, the combination of the four buoys provides a nearly continuous series of observed wind. After correcting for different anemometer heights, sea-surface wind stress is calculated by the neutral stability method of Large and Pond J. Phys. Ocean 11 (1981) 324. Weekly mean stress is plotted for the entire period. Significant coherence (0.72–0.92) was found between sites with very little phase or gain for the 2–10 day storm-band period. An offshore increase of ∼0.006 Pa/100 km is detected in the mean stress for the Winter/Fall seasons. The complex correlation coefficients (calculated as a single measure of coherence across all frequency bands) ranges from 0.68 to 0.90. sources of wind data are discussed including the Fleet Numerical Meteorology and Oceanography Centerʹs (FNMOC) estimates from pressure observations, the Comprehensive Ocean Atmosphere Data Set (COADS) from ship observations, and NOAAʹs National Center for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) recent model/data assimilation. For purposes of representing storm-band frequency, the FNMOC winds account for more than 80% of the variability in the buoy record and they provide a continuous surface wind estimate for the Georges Bank region back to 1967. However, the intensified wind stress as a function of distance offshore, as detected by both the buoys and COADS , is not detected in the FMNOC records. Also, a counterclockwise rotation of 19max° is needed (in addition to the standard 15°) to correct the FMNOC winds for the atmospheric boundary layer. Recent NCEP products provide a finer scale spatial coverage of the wind field and are a potential source of boundary forcing for coastal ocean circulation models.