When Gloom Blooms in June, Is Catalina Eddy the Reason for the Season?
June 11, 2001 Catalina Eddy View animation The elusive swirl of breezes called the Catalina Eddy, responsible for helping cool the Los Angeles basin, is captured in a new animation of sea-surface winds measured by the SeaWinds instrument on NASA’s QuikScat satellite. During the hot, dry summer months these gentle winds are welcomed because they direct the offshore marine layer toward the Los Angeles basin. Because the flow is more onshore than normal, this cooling oceanic influence of the eddy has been described as nature’s purifier or air-conditioner for Los Angeles. The animation is online at: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/videos/earth/california Beta-SP copies of the video are available for broadcasters by calling Xaviant Ford at (818) 353-4484. While the Catalina Eddy, an atmospheric vortex or eddy with a counter-clockwise rotation pattern, can occur in the California Bight (the open ocean bay formed by the bend in the coast between Point Conception to the north and San Diego to the sout
