A contribution to the wind conditions over the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico

The wind conditions over the Central American Seas are discussed on the basis of 9-year mean charts for selected pressure levels and meridional cross-sections along 80° W. The field of large-scale vertical motion is computed for all months of one year. Over the Caribbean Sea, a vigorous downward motion is found during the second part of the winter half-year, which is fed by convergence in the upper-tropospheric southwesterly current. During the greater part of the year, however, upward motion prevails, with a weak tendency to subsidence in midsummer. Over the Gulf of Mexico, subsidence is indicated during great part of the year, changing to ascending motion in midsummer. Implications of the vertical circulation for certain climatic characteristics in the region of the Central American Seas are discussed.