The quasi-geostrophic response of the ocean to stochastic forcing by wind stress and atmospheric pressure is investigated using a linear, continuously stratified, β-plane oceanic model with a flat bottom. We consider a spectral representation of the forcing and response fields, and we estimate the oceanic response using a vertical normal mode expansion. Model spectra of the wind stress, wind stress curl and surface pressure fields are constructed. In the wavenumber-frequency range of quasi-geostrophic eddies, the observations suggest that because of their short correlation time scale, the forcing fields are, to a reasonable approximation, white in frequency space and symmetric in wavenumber space. Forcing by the wind stress has the dominant role. The oceanic response can be off-resonant or resonant. In the off-resonant case, we predict oceanic wavenumber-frequency response spectra. In case of resonance we estimate total energy transfer rates by integrating the oceanic response over depth and wave... Abstract The quasi-geostrophic response of the ocean to stochastic forcing by wind stress and atmospheric pressure is investigated using a linear, continuously stratified, β-plane oceanic model with a flat bottom. We consider a spectral representation of the forcing and response fields, and we estimate the oceanic response using a vertical normal mode expansion. Model spectra of the wind stress, wind stress curl and surface pressure fields are constructed. In the wavenumber-frequency range of quasi-geostrophic eddies, the observations suggest that because of their short correlation time scale, the forcing fields are, to a reasonable approximation, white in frequency space and symmetric in wavenumber space. Forcing by the wind stress has the dominant role. The oceanic response can be off-resonant or resonant. In the off-resonant case, we predict oceanic wavenumber-frequency response spectra. In case of resonance we estimate total energy transfer rates by integrating the oceanic response over depth and wave...