On this day in history...
...in 1948, Henry Stommel published his groundbreaking paper, The Westward Intensification of Wind-Driven Ocean Currents, in the Transactions of the American Geophysical Union. Building on the earlier work of Harald Sverdrup, who had modeled the eastern branch of the subtropical gyre using the beta effect and the vorticity balance, Stommel introduced two crucial innovations that allowed him to close the subtropical gyre: the inclusion of bottom friction and the generation of horizontal pressure gradient forces caused by the tilted ocean surface.
Sverdrup’s model had demonstrated how the variation of the Coriolis parameter with latitude (the beta effect) drives the eastward flow, but it could not explain the strong, narrow western boundary currents like the Gulf Stream. Stommel’s inclusion of bottom friction provided the necessary mechanism to balance vorticity and complete the gyre. Additionally, his recognition that the ocean’s free surface is not flat, but tilted, enabled him to incorporate the role of horizontal pressure gradients in driving these large-scale circulations.
It is somehow curious how the review process worked at the time as compared to today. Journals often published articles with a period for open discussion, allowing the scientific community to critique and refine the work. Stommel’s manuscript was received on September 25, 1947, presented at a meeting on September 18, 1947, and remained open for discussion until September 1, 1948, despite it was already published on April 1948. This extended review period reflects the collaborative nature of science during that era.
Although the exact date of publication of the issue in April 1948 is unknown, this paper remains a cornerstone in physical oceanography. Stommel’s contributions not only enhanced the theoretical framework for the subtropical gyres but also laid the foundation for decades of research into ocean circulation. If anyone knows the precise date of publication or has additional ideas into the process, we’d love to hear from you!
The manuscript is available here.
Source
- https://ocw.mit.edu/ans7870/textbooks/Wunsch/Edited/Henry_Stommel.pdf
- https://webarchives.whoi.edu/75th-archive/book/whoi-richardson.pdf
- https://www.cnmoc.usff.navy.mil/Press-Room/News-Stories/Article/3269631/henry-melson-stommel-ocean-currents-and-western-intensification/
- https://uhslc.soest.hawaii.edu/ocn620/notes/wbc_book.html