The oceanic eddy field: Comments on exploration and technology

The past decade yielded a substantial improvement in our perception of the oceanic eddy field, and some new ideas and information on the general ocean circulation. Eddies are observed to be most intense in the vicinity of particular strong currents, and eddy-resolving gyre-scale numerical models unanimously "predict" a similar spatial coincidence of energetic eddies and mean flow. These models are dominated by eddy-mean flow interactions, in both directions, and if realistic, imply that joint investigations of eddies and the general circulation are warranted. The observational segment of future programs in this area of research will probably be based on the use of essentially the entire technological spectrum, including both existing capabilities and likely new developments.