scholarly journals Seasonality of Tropical Instability Waves and Its Feedback to the Seasonal Cycle in the Tropical Eastern Pacific

2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seul-Hee Im ◽  
Soon-Il An ◽  
Matthieu Lengaigne ◽  
Yign Noh
Keyword(s):  
Energy Conversion ◽  
Seasonal Cycle ◽  
Ocean Model ◽  
Eastern Pacific ◽  
Tropical Eastern Pacific ◽  
Instability Waves ◽  
Tropical Instability Waves ◽  
Barotropic Energy Conversion ◽  
Baroclinic Energy Conversion ◽  
One Year

This study investigated the seasonality of tropical instability waves (TIWs) and its feedback to the seasonal cycle in the tropical eastern Pacific using a high-resolution ocean model covering 1958–2007. The climatological mean of the TIWs featured intraseasonal fluctuations, implying that TIWs are not occurring randomly, but their amplitude is partly in phase from one year to another. This seasonality of TIW activity is attributed to their dependency on the seasonal mean variation of current and temperature. Energy conversion analysis confirmed that the strong variability of TIWs near 4°N was due to the barotropic energy conversion associated with the large meridional shear of NECC and SEC and that at another pole near 2°N was due to the baroclinic energy conversion associated with the temperature front in the mixed layer. The former and latter poles are somehow largely responsible for amplifying the dynamic and thermal eddies of TIWs, respectively. The intensified TIWs during a boreal fall increase the tropical eastern Pacific SST by associating the warm thermal advection by anomalous currents, with a rate of up to 1°C/month in September. Therefore, this leads to interactive feedback between seasonal and intraseasonal variations, that is, TIWs in the tropical eastern Pacific.

scholarly journals The Roles of Intraseasonal Kelvin Waves and Tropical Instability Waves in SST Variability along the Equatorial Pacific in an Isopycnal Ocean Model

2009 ◽  
Vol 22 (12) ◽  
pp. 3470-3487 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chuan Li Jiang ◽  
Lu Anne Thompson ◽  
Kathryn A. Kelly ◽  
Meghan F. Cronin
Keyword(s):  
Time Scales ◽  
Ocean Model ◽  
Kelvin Waves ◽  
Eastern Pacific ◽  
Kelvin Wave ◽  
Central Pacific ◽  
Instability Waves ◽  
Tropical Instability Waves ◽  
Zonal Advection ◽  
Sst Anomalies

Abstract The roles of intraseasonal Kelvin waves and tropical instability waves (TIWs) in the intraseasonal and low-frequency mixed-layer temperature budget were examined in an isopycnal ocean model forced by QuikSCAT winds from 2000 to 2004. Correlations between temperature tendency and other terms of the intraseasonal budget compare well with previous results using Tropical Atmosphere Ocean (TAO) observations: the net heat flux has the largest correlation in the western Pacific and zonal advection has the largest correlation in the central Pacific. In the central Pacific, the intraseasonal variations in zonal advection were due to both the zonal background velocity acting on the Kelvin wave temperature anomaly and the Kelvin wave’s anomalous velocity acting on the background temperature. In the eastern Pacific, three of the four temperature budget terms have comparable correlations. In particular, the vertical processes acting on the shallow thermocline cause large SST anomalies in phase with the intraseasonal thermocline anomalies. On intraseasonal time scales, the influence of individual composite upwelling and downwelling Kelvin waves cancel each other. However, because the intraseasonal SST anomalies increase to the east, a zonal gradient of SST is generated that is in phase with intraseasonal zonal velocity. Consequently, heat advection by the Kelvin waves rectifies into lower frequencies in the eastern Pacific. Rectification resulting from TIWs was also seen. The prevalence of intraseasonal Kelvin waves and the zonal structure of intraseasonal SST from 2002 to early 2004 suggested that they might be important in setting the eastern Pacific SST on interannual time scales.

scholarly journals Numerical simulation and decomposition of kinetic energy in the Central Mediterranean: insight on mesoscale circulation and energy conversion

Ocean Science ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 503-519 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Sorgente ◽  
A. Olita ◽  
P. Oddo ◽  
L. Fazioli ◽  
A. Ribotti
Keyword(s):  
Numerical Simulation ◽  
Kinetic Energy ◽  
Energy Conversion ◽  
Ocean Model ◽  
Eddy Kinetic Energy ◽  
Tyrrhenian Sea ◽  
Central Mediterranean ◽  
Baroclinic Energy Conversion ◽  
Sicily Channel ◽  
Mean Kinetic Energy

Abstract. The spatial and temporal variability of eddy and mean kinetic energy of the Central Mediterranean region has been investigated, from January 2008 to December 2010, by mean of a numerical simulation mainly to quantify the mesoscale dynamics and their relationships with physical forcing. In order to understand the energy redistribution processes, the baroclinic energy conversion has been analysed, suggesting hypotheses about the drivers of the mesoscale activity in this area. The ocean model used is based on the Princeton Ocean Model implemented at 1/32° horizontal resolution. Surface momentum and buoyancy fluxes are interactively computed by mean of standard bulk formulae using predicted model Sea Surface Temperature and atmospheric variables provided by the European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecast operational analyses. At its lateral boundaries the model is one-way nested within the Mediterranean Forecasting System operational products. The model domain has been subdivided in four sub-regions: Sardinia channel and southern Tyrrhenian Sea, Sicily channel, eastern Tunisian shelf and Libyan Sea. Temporal evolution of eddy and mean kinetic energy has been analysed, on each of the four sub-regions, showing different behaviours. On annual scales and within the first 5 m depth, the eddy kinetic energy represents approximately the 60 % of the total kinetic energy over the whole domain, confirming the strong mesoscale nature of the surface current flows in this area. The analyses show that the model well reproduces the path and the temporal behaviour of the main known sub-basin circulation features. New mesoscale structures have been also identified, from numerical results and direct observations, for the first time as the Pantelleria Vortex and the Medina Gyre. The classical kinetic energy decomposition (eddy and mean) allowed to depict and to quantify the permanent and fluctuating parts of the circulation in the region, and to differentiate the four sub-regions as function of relative and absolute strength of the mesoscale activity. Furthermore the Baroclinic Energy Conversion term shows that in the Sardinia Channel the mesoscale activity, due to baroclinic instabilities, is significantly larger than in the other sub-regions, while a negative sign of the energy conversion, meaning a transfer of energy from the Eddy Kinetic Energy to the Eddy Available Potential Energy, has been recorded only for the surface layers of the Sicily Channel during summer.

scholarly journals Numerical simulation and decomposition of kinetic energies in the Central Mediterranean Sea: insight on mesoscale circulation and energy conversion

2011 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 1161-1214 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Sorgente ◽  
A. Olita ◽  
P. Oddo ◽  
L. Fazioli ◽  
A. Ribotti
Keyword(s):  
Numerical Simulation ◽  
Kinetic Energy ◽  
Energy Conversion ◽  
Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Ocean Model ◽  
Eddy Kinetic Energy ◽  
Central Mediterranean ◽  
Central Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Baroclinic Energy Conversion ◽  
Mean Kinetic Energy

Abstract. The spatial and temporal variability of eddy and mean kinetic energy of the Central Mediterranean Sea has been investigated, from January 2008 to December 2010, by mean of a numerical simulation mainly to quantify the mesoscale dynamics and their relationships with physical forcing. In order to understand the energy redistribution processes, the baroclinic energy conversion has been analysed, suggesting hypotheses about the drivers of the mesoscale activity in this area. The ocean model used is based on the Princeton Ocean Model implemented at 1/32° horizontal resolution. Surface momentum and buoyancy fluxes are interactively computed by mean of standard bulk formulae using predicted model Sea Surface Temperature and atmospheric variables provided by the European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecast operational analyses. At its lateral boundaries the model is one-way nested within the Mediterranean Forecasting System operational products. The model domain has been subdivided in four sub-regions: Sardinia channel and southern Tyrrhenian Sea, Sicily channel, eastern Tunisian shelf and Libyan Sea. Temporal evolution of eddy and mean kinetic energy has been analysed, on each of the four sub-regions composing the model domain, showing different behaviours. On annual scales and within the first 5 m depth, the eddy kinetic energy represents approximately the 60 % of the total kinetic energy over the whole domain, confirming the strong mesoscale nature of the surface current flows in this area. The analyses show that the model well reproduces the path and the temporal behaviour of the main known sub-basin circulation features. New mesoscale structures have been also identified, from numerical results and direct observations, for the first time as the Pantelleria Vortex and the Medina Gyre. The classical the kinetic energy decomposition (eddy and mean) allowed to depict and to quantify the stable and fluctuating parts of the circulation in the region, and to differentiate the four sub-regions as function of relative and absolute strength of the mesoscale activity. Furthermore the Baroclinic Energy Conversion term shows that in the Sardinia Channel the mesoscale activity, due to baroclinic instabilities, is significantly larger than in the other sub-regions, while a negative sign of the energy conversion, meaning a transfer of energy from the Eddy Kinetic Energy to the Eddy Available Potential Energy, has been recorded only for the surface layers of the Sicily Channel during summer.

The Role of the NECC in a Strong El Niño.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Webb
Keyword(s):  
Ocean Model ◽  
Warm Water ◽  
Ekman Transport ◽  
Global Ocean ◽  
Instability Waves ◽  
Tropical Instability Waves ◽  
The North ◽  
Ocean Science ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
North Equatorial Counter Current

<p>An analysis of archived data from the NEMO 1/12th degree global ocean model shows the importance of the North Equatorial Counter Current (NECC) in the development of the strong 1982–1983 and 1997–1998 El Niños.  The model results indicate that in a normal year the coreof warm water in the NECC is diluted by the surface Ekman transport, by geostrophic inflow and by tropical instability waves. During the development of the 1982–1983 and 1997–1998 El Niños, these processes had reduced effect at the longitudes of warmest equatorial temperatures. During the autumns of 1982 and 1997, the speed of the NECC was also increased by a stronger-than-normal annual Rossby wave and other changes in sea level in the western Pacific.  The resulting increased transport of warm water by the NECC resulted in water with temperatures above 28C reaching the eastern Pacific.  This appears to have been a major factor in moving the centre of deep atmospheric convection eastwards across the Pacific.</p><p>Note:  This is based on the paper published in Ocean Science.  An oral presentation is possible.</p>

Using TIGGE Data to Diagnose Initial Perturbations and Their Growth for Tropical Cyclone Ensemble Forecasts

2010 ◽  
Vol 138 (9) ◽  
pp. 3634-3655 ◽  
Author(s):  
Munehiko Yamaguchi ◽  
Sharanya J. Majumdar
Keyword(s):  
Tropical Cyclone ◽  
Energy Conversion ◽  
Japan Meteorological Agency ◽  
Initial Time ◽  
Ensemble Spread ◽  
Ensemble Forecasts ◽  
Large Perturbation ◽  
Barotropic Energy Conversion ◽  
Baroclinic Energy Conversion ◽  
Perturbation Growth

Abstract Ensemble initial perturbations around Typhoon Sinlaku (2008) produced by ECMWF, NCEP, and the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) ensembles are compared using The Observing System Research and Predictability Experiment (THORPEX) Interactive Grand Global Ensemble (TIGGE) data, and the dynamical mechanisms of perturbation growth associated with the tropical cyclone (TC) motion are investigated for the ECMWF and NCEP ensembles. In the comparison, it is found that the vertical and horizontal distributions of initial perturbations as well as the amplitude are quite different among the three NWP centers before, during, and after the recurvature of Sinlaku. In addition, it turns out that those variations cause a difference in the TC motion not only at the initial time but also during the subsequent forecast period. The ECMWF ensemble exhibits relatively large perturbation growth, which results from 1) the baroclinic energy conversion in a vortex, 2) the baroclinic energy conversion associated with the midlatitude waves, and 3) the barotropic energy conversion in a vortex. Those features are less distinctive in the NCEP ensemble. A statistical verification shows that the ensemble spread of TC track predictions in NCEP (ECMWF) is larger than ECMWF (NCEP) for 1- (3-) day forecasts on average. It can be inferred that while the ECMWF ensemble starts from a relatively small amplitude of initial perturbations, the growth of the perturbations helps to amplify the ensemble spread of tracks. On the other hand, a relatively large amplitude of initial perturbations seems to play a role in producing the ensemble spread of tracks in the NCEP ensemble.

Transient eddy kinetic energetics on Mars in three reanalysis datasets

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Michael Battalio
Keyword(s):  
Kinetic Energy ◽  
Energy Conversion ◽  
Northern Hemisphere ◽  
Thermal Emission ◽  
Ensemble Member ◽  
Eddy Kinetic Energy ◽  
Mean Flow ◽  
Short Period ◽  
Barotropic Energy Conversion ◽  
Baroclinic Energy Conversion

AbstractThe ability of Martian reanalysis datasets to represent the growth and decay of short-period (1.5 < P < 8 sol) transient eddies is compared across the Mars Analysis Correction Data Assimilation (MACDA), Open access to Mars Assimilated Remote Soundings (OpenMARS), and Ensemble Mars Reanalysis System (EMARS). Short-period eddies are predominantly surface-based, have the largest amplitudes in the northern hemisphere, and are found, in order of decreasing eddy kinetic energy amplitude, in Utopia, Acidalia, and Arcadia Planitae in the northern hemisphere, and south of the Tharsis Plateau and between Argyre and Hellas Basins in the southern hemisphere. Short-period eddies grow on the upstream (western) sides of basins via baroclinic energy conversion and by extracting energy from the mean flow and long-period (P > 8 sol) eddies when interacting with high relief. Overall, the combined impact of barotropic energy conversion is a net loss of eddy kinetic energy, which rectifies previous conflicting results. When Thermal Emission Spectrometer observations are assimilated (Mars years 24–27), all three reanalyses agree on eddy amplitude and timing, but during the Mars Climate Sounder (MCS) observational era (Mars years 28–33), eddies are less constrained. The EMARS ensemble member has considerably higher eddy generation than the ensemble mean, and bulk eddy amplitudes in the deterministic OpenMARS reanalysis agree with the EMARS ensemble rather than the EMARS member. Thus, analysis of individual eddies during the MCS era should only be performed when eddy amplitudes are large and when there is agreement across reanalyses.

scholarly journals On the role of the North Equatorial Counter Current during a strong El Niño

Ocean Science ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 633-660 ◽  
Author(s):  
David John Webb
Keyword(s):  
Ocean Model ◽  
Warm Water ◽  
Ekman Transport ◽  
Global Ocean ◽  
Instability Waves ◽  
Tropical Instability Waves ◽  
The North ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
North Equatorial Counter Current ◽  
Counter Current

Abstract. An analysis of archived data from the NEMO 1∕12th degree global ocean model shows the importance of the North Equatorial Counter Current (NECC) in the development of the strong 1982–1983 and 1997–1998 El Niños. The model results indicate that in a normal year the core of warm water in the NECC is diluted by the surface Ekman transport, by geostrophic inflow and by tropical instability waves. During the development of the 1982–1983 and 1997–1998 El Niños, these processes had reduced effect at the longitudes of warmest equatorial temperatures and to the west. During the autumns of 1982 and 1997, the speed of the NECC was also increased by a stronger-than-normal annual Rossby wave. The increased transport of warm water by the NECC due to these changes resulted in warm water reaching the far eastern Pacific and appears to have been a major factor in moving the centre of deep atmospheric convection eastwards across the Pacific.

A teleconnection pattern of 10-30-day atmospheric oscilations over North Pacific during summer: Chracteristics and maintainance mechanism

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lei Du ◽  
Riyu Lu
Keyword(s):  
Energy Conversion ◽  
North Pacific ◽  
Phase Locking ◽  
Teleconnection Pattern ◽  
Zonal Wavenumber ◽  
Meridional Winds ◽  
Gain Energy ◽  
Barotropic Energy Conversion ◽  
Baroclinic Energy Conversion ◽  
Main Component

&lt;p&gt;The present study investigates the intraseasonal variations of meridional winds over North Pacific during summer based on reanalysis datasets. It is shown that the band of 10-30 days is the main component of total intraseasonal varaitions. We identified a teleconnection pattern over North Pacific at this band . This teleconnection pattern is characterized by a zonally-oriented wave-like structure with a zonal wavenumber 5, and does not show a phase-locking feature. In addition, the anomalies associated with the teleconnection pattern exhibit a roughly baratropic structure. Further analyses suggest that the teleconnection pattern can gain energy from the basic flow through the baroclinic energy conversion, while the barotropic energy conversion plays a trivial role.&lt;/p&gt;

scholarly journals The Tropical Eastern Pacific Seasonal Cycle: Assessment of Errors and Mechanisms in IPCC AR4 Coupled Ocean–Atmosphere General Circulation Models*

2008 ◽  
Vol 21 (11) ◽  
pp. 2573-2590 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon P. de Szoeke ◽  
Shang-Ping Xie
Keyword(s):  
Wind Speed ◽  
Seasonal Cycle ◽  
General Circulation ◽  
General Circulation Models ◽  
Meridional Wind ◽  
Central American ◽  
Eastern Pacific ◽  
Tropical Eastern Pacific ◽  
Northerly Wind ◽  
Stratus Clouds

Abstract Warmer SST and more rain in the Northern Hemisphere are observed year-round in the tropical eastern Pacific with southerly wind crossing the equator toward the atmospheric heating. The southerlies are minimal during boreal spring, when two precipitation maxima straddle the equator. Fourteen atmosphere–ocean coupled GCMs from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP3) and one coupled regional model are evaluated against observations with simple metrics that diagnose the seasonal cycle and meridional migration of warm SST and rain. Intermodel correlations of the metrics elucidate common coupled physics. These models variously simulate the climatology of SST and ITCZ rain. In 8 out of 15 models the ITCZ alternates symmetrically between the hemispheres with the seasons. This seasonally alternating ITCZ error generates two wind speed maxima per year—one northerly and one southerly—resulting in spurious cooling in March and a cool SST error of the equatorial ocean. Most models have too much rain in the Southern Hemisphere so that SST and rain are too symmetric about the equator in the annual mean. Weak meridional wind on the equator near the South American coast (2°S–2°N, 80°–90°W) explains the warm SST error there. Northeasterly wind jets blow over the Central American isthmus in winter and cool the SST in the eastern Pacific warm pool. In some models the strength of these winds contributes to the early demise of their northern ITCZ relative to observations. The February–April northerly wind bias on the equator is correlated to the antecedent December–February Central American Pacific wind speed at −0.88. The representation of southern-tropical stratus clouds affects the underlying SST through solar radiation, but its effect on the meridional atmospheric circulation is difficult to discern from the multimodel ensemble, indicating that errors other than the simulation of stratus clouds are also important for accurate simulation of the meridional asymmetry. This study identifies several features to be improved in atmospheric and coupled GCMs, including the northeasterly cross–Central American wind in winter and meridional wind on the equator. Improved simulation of the seasonal cycle of meridional wind could alleviate biases in equatorial SST and improve simulation of ENSO and its teleconnections.

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