=<10103Synoptic oceanic eddies are defined as nonstationary eddylike disturbances of the oceanic circulation with a horizontal scale of the order of the Rossby internal scale R = NIif-l, wherefis the Conolis parameter, h the thickness of the baroclinic layer in the ocean, and N the average over the baroclinic layer Viiisiila frequency; in the internal parts of the anticyclonic subtropical gyres R is of the order of 50 km. The use of the term "synoptic" instead of the term "mesoscale" emphasizes the physical analogy between the phenomenon under consideration and the synoptic eddies in the atmosphere (cyclones and anticyclones). This analogy can be made on the basis of their similar physical natures (Rossby waves, the determining role for which is played by the Corio lis parameter), the suggested prevailing mechanism of generation (baroclinic instability of large-scale currents), the corresponding horizontal scales (Rossby atmospheric and oceanic scales) and in the quasi-geostrophic character of the motion.The experimental data obtained so far make it possible to subdivide the synoptic occanic eddies into two classes: 1. Frontal eddies that are produced by the cutoff of meanders from such frontal currents as the Gulf Stream and the Kuroshio. 2. Open-ocean eddies that are, as it is understood at the present time, quasi horizontal and quasi-geostrophic waves of the synoptic scale.This review deals primarily with the open-ocean eddies discovered and experimentally studied during the past decade. The fr ontal eddies are considered mainly to elucidate common features and differences between them and the open ocean eddies. The theoretical part of the review is subordinate and deals primarily with the results directly related to experiment. 2 OPEN-OCEAN SYNOPTIC EDDIES 2.1 First Serious Indications The most fundamental contribution to the studies of synoptic eddies of the open ocean has been made by the Soviet POL YGON-70 experiment (Brekhovskikh et al 495 0084-6597/78/0515-0495 $01.00 Annu. Rev. Earth Planet. Sci. 1978.6:495-523. Downloaded from www.annualreviews.org Access provided by University of California -Davis on 02/03/15. For personal use only. Quick links to online content Further ANNUAL REVIEWS
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