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In summer‐fall 2002, the coastal northeast Pacific (NEP) was characterized by anomalously cool, fresh waters extending from Vancouver Island to southern California, increased equatorward transport in the California Current System (CCS), and higher surface productivity in the northern CCS. The evolution of large scale atmosphere‐ocean anomalies in the NEP from winter 2001–02 through fall 2002 contributed to these coastal anomalies by setting up wind stress anomalies that led to: 1) anomalous transport of subarctic waters into the North Pacific Current (NPC); 2) enhanced eastward flow in the NPC; 3) anomalously strong upwelling in the CCS; and 4) enhanced equatorward transport in the CCS.

[1] We examine the seasonal evolution of analyzed wind stress curl (WSC) over the northeast Pacific Ocean. The strongest WSC features are associated with wind maxima on the flanks of the North Pacific High and Aleutian Low, especially in coastal regions. A strong, seasonally-migrating WSC dipole (positive inshore, negative offshore) is evident year-round over the California Current System (CCS). We compare the WSC fields to observed upper ocean temperatures to test the hypothesis that seasonal variations in overlying WSC strongly impact temperatures just below the seasonal thermocline. The hypothesis is supported along most of the west coast, where the WSC seasonal cycle is strong and subsurface temperature data are relatively abundant. In open ocean regions, there is little clear evidence for or against the hypothesis due to weak WSC signals and a lack of subsurface data. INDEX TERMS:4504 Oceanography: Physical: Air/sea interactions (0312); 4516 Oceanography: Physical: Eastern boundary currents; 4227 Oceanography: General: Diurnal, seasonal, and annual cycles. Citation: Murphree, T., P. Green-Jessen, F. B. Schwing, and S. J. Bograd, The seasonal cycle of wind stress curl and its relationship to subsurface ocean temperature in the Northeast

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