It has been known for some time that the ocean basins are populated by what is known as “zonal jets”, “deep zonal jets”, or “striations”. Since the oceanic flow is, at least weakly, chaotic, it is not known whether the positions of the jets are “deterministic”, that is, entirely determined by external parameters. A number of theories have been proposed to explain them, some of them predicting zonal jets at fixed latitudes and others implying that the positions of the jets are random. To investigate how deterministic the zonal jets are in the eastern North Pacific, a ten-member ensemble of long-term integrations of a semi-global, eddy-resolving ocean general circulation model is analyzed. The positions of the equatorial jets, even their variability, seem to obey deterministic dynamics and some of the jets in the tropics (5$\circ$–15$\circ$N) migrate poleward coherently (similarly between ensemble members). The jets in the subtropics (15$\circ$–45$\circ$N) systematically migrate equatorward but their positions are less coherent; the jets in the subpolar region (45$\circ$N–) are random and without systematic migration. Jets near the coast of North and South America tend to have shorter meridional wavelengths than interior ones and those in the northern hemisphere are fairly coherent whereas those in the southern hemisphere seem more random. There are a few quasi-barotropic jets which are anchored to steep bottom topographic features and which also appear to trap shallower counter-flows on their poleward and equatorward flanks.

一段时间以来，人们都知道海盆中分布着所谓的“地带喷流”，“深部地带喷流”或“横纹”。由于洋流至少是微弱的混乱，因此不知道射流的位置是否“确定性”，即是否完全由外部参数确定。已经提出了许多理论来解释它们，其中一些预测在固定纬度上的纬向射流，而另一些则暗示着射流的位置是随机的。为了研究北太平洋东部纬向射流的确定性，分析了一个由十个成员组成的半全局，涡旋分解海洋总环流模型的长期积分集合。赤道喷流的位置，甚至是它们的可变性，似乎都服从确定性动力学，而在热带地区，某些喷流也服从于定律（5$\circ$–15$\circ$N）极地相干迁移（类似在集合成员之间）。亚热带的喷气式飞机（15$\circ$–45$\circ$N）系统地向赤道方向迁移，但它们的位置不太连贯；亚极区域的喷流（45$\circ$N–）是随机的，没有系统的迁移。北美和南美海岸附近的喷气机的子午线波长往往比内部喷气机的短，而北半球的子午线则相当连贯，而南半球的子午线则显得比较随机。有一些准正压射流被锚固在陡峭的底部地形特征上，并且似乎在其极地和赤道侧面还捕获了较浅的逆流。