Characterization of surface heat fluxes in the Mediterranean Sea from a 44-year high-resolution atmospheric data set

2008 ◽  
Vol 63 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 258-274 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simón Ruiz ◽  
Damià Gomis ◽  
Marcos G. Sotillo ◽  
Simon A. Josey
2011 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
pp. 8961-8998 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. Cuypers ◽  
P. Bouruet-Aubertot ◽  
C. Marec ◽  
J.-L. Fuda

Abstract. One main purpose of BOUM experiment was to give evidence of the possible impact of submesoscale dynamics on biogeochemical cycles. To this aim physical as well as biogeochemical data were collected along a zonal transect through the western and eastern basins. Along this transect 3 day fixed point stations were performed within anticyclonic eddies during which microstructure measurements were collected over the first 100 m. We focus here on the characterization of turbulent mixing induced by internal wave breaking. The analysis of microstructure measurements revealed a high level of turbulence in the seasonal pycnocline and a moderate level below with energy dissipation mean values of the order of 10−6 W kg−1 and 10−8 W kg−1, respectively. Fine-scale parameterizations developed to mimic energy dissipation produced by internal wavebreaking were then tested against these direct measurements. Once validated a parameterization has been applied to infer energy dissipation and mixing over the whole data set, thus providing an overview over a latitudinal section of the Mediterranean sea. The results evidence a significant increase of dissipation at the top and base of eddies associated with strong near inertial waves. Vertical turbulent diffusivity is increased both in these regions and in the weakly stratified eddy core.


2003 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 267-280 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Brenner

Abstract. As part of the Mediterranean Forecasting System Pilot Project (MFSPP) we have implemented a high-resolution (2 km horizontal grid, 30 sigma levels) version of the Princeton Ocean Model for the southeastern corner of the Mediterranean Sea. The domain extends 200 km offshore and includes the continental shelf and slope, and part of the open sea. The model is nested in an intermediate resolution (5.5 km grid) model that covers the entire Levantine, Ionian, and Aegean Sea. The nesting is one way so that velocity, temperature, and salinity along the boundaries are interpolated from the relevant intermediate model variables. An integral constraint is applied so that the net mass flux across the open boundaries is identical to the net flux in the intermediate model. The model is integrated for three perpetual years with surface forcing specified from monthly mean climatological wind stress and heat fluxes. The model is stable and spins up within the first year to produce a repeating seasonal cycle throughout the three-year integration period. While there is some internal variability evident in the results, it is clear that, due to the relatively small domain, the results are strongly influenced by the imposed lateral boundary conditions. The results closely follow the simulation of the intermediate model. The main improvement is in the simulation over the narrow shelf region, which is not adequately resolved by the coarser grid model. Comparisons with direct current measurements over the shelf and slope show reasonable agreement despite the limitations of the climatological forcing. The model correctly simulates the direction and the typical speeds of the flow over the shelf and slope, but has difficulty properly re-producing the seasonal cycle in the speed.Key words. Oceanography: general (continental shelf processes; numerical modelling; ocean prediction)


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Torben Koenigk ◽  
Ramon Fuentes-Franco ◽  
Virna Meccia ◽  
Oliver Gutjahr ◽  
Laura C. Jackson ◽  
...  

Abstract. Simulations from seven global coupled climate models performed at high and standard resolution as part of the High Resolution Model Intercomparison Project (HighResMIP) have been analyzed to study the impact of horizontal resolution in both ocean and atmosphere on deep ocean convection in the North Atlantic and to evaluate the robustness of the signal across models. The representation of convection varies strongly among models. Compared to observations from ARGO-floats, most models substantially overestimate deep water formation in the Labrador Sea. In the Greenland Sea, some models overestimate convection while others show too weak convection. In most models, higher ocean resolution leads to increased deep convection in the Labrador Sea and reduced convection in the Greenland Sea. Increasing the atmospheric resolution has only little effect on the deep convection, except in two models, which share the same atmospheric component and show reduced convection. Simulated convection in the Labrador Sea is largely governed by the release of heat from the ocean to the atmosphere. Higher resolution models show stronger surface heat fluxes than the standard resolution models in the convection areas, which promotes the stronger convection in the Labrador Sea. In the Greenland Sea, the connection between high resolution and ocean heat release to the atmosphere is less robust and there is more variation across models in the relation between surface heat fluxes and convection. Simulated freshwater fluxes have less impact than surface heat fluxes on convection in both the Greenland and Labrador Sea and this result is insensitive to model resolution. is not robust across models. The mean strength of the Labrador Sea convection is important for the mean Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) and in around half of the models the variability of Labrador Sea convection is a significant contributor to the variability of the AMOC.


2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (18) ◽  
pp. 5259-5276 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohamed Ayache ◽  
Jean-Claude Dutay ◽  
Thomas Arsouze ◽  
Sidonie Révillon ◽  
Jonathan Beuvier ◽  
...  

Abstract. An extensive compilation of published neodymium (Nd) concentrations and isotopic compositions (Nd IC) was realized in order to establish a new database and a map (using a high-resolution geological map of the area) of the distribution of these parameters for all the Mediterranean margins. Data were extracted from different kinds of samples: river solid discharge deposited on the shelf, sedimentary material collected on the margin or geological material outcropping above or close to a margin. Additional analyses of surface sediments were done in order to improve this data set in key areas (e.g. Sicilian strait). The Mediterranean margin Nd isotopic signatures vary from non-radiogenic values around the Gulf of Lion, (εNd values  ∼  −11) to radiogenic values around the Aegean and the Levantine sub-basins up to +6. Using a high-resolution regional oceanic model (1/12° of horizontal-resolution), εNd distribution was simulated for the first time in the Mediterranean Sea. The high resolution of the model provides a unique opportunity to represent a realistic thermohaline circulation in the basin and thus apprehend the processes governing the Nd isotope distribution in the marine environment. Results are consistent with the preceding conclusions on boundary exchange (BE) as an important process in the Nd oceanic cycle. Nevertheless this approach simulates a too-radiogenic value in the Mediterranean Sea; this bias will likely be corrected once the dust and river inputs will be included in the model. This work highlights that a significant interannual variability of εNd distribution in seawater could occur. In particular, important hydrological events such as the Eastern Mediterranean Transient (EMT), associated with deep water formed in the Aegean sub-basin, could induce a shift in εNd at deep/intermediate depths that could be noticeable in the eastern part of the basin. This underlines that the temporal and geographical variations of εNd could represent an interesting insight of Nd as tracer of the Mediterranean Sea circulation, in particular in the context of palaeo-oceanographic applications.


2017 ◽  
Vol 37 (14) ◽  
pp. 4757-4767 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cunbo Han ◽  
Yaoming Ma ◽  
Xuelong Chen ◽  
Zhongbo Su

2021 ◽  
Vol 561 ◽  
pp. 110057
Author(s):  
Hana Uvanović ◽  
Bernd R. Schöne ◽  
Krešimir Markulin ◽  
Ivica Janeković ◽  
Melita Peharda

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