Control of Decadal and Bidecadal Climate Variability in the Tropical Pacific by the Off-Equatorial South Pacific Ocean

2013 ◽  
Vol 26 (17) ◽  
pp. 6524-6534 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hiroaki Tatebe ◽  
Yukiko Imada ◽  
Masato Mori ◽  
Masahide Kimoto ◽  
Hiroyasu Hasumi
Keyword(s):  
Time Scales ◽  
Wind Stress ◽  
Climate Model ◽  
South Pacific ◽  
Ocean Model ◽  
Ocean Dynamics ◽  
Wind Stress Curl ◽  
Mode Water ◽  
Tropical Variability ◽  
Stress Changes

Abstract Delayed negative feedback processes determining intrinsic decadal and bidecadal time scales for the tropical variability in the Pacific are investigated based on climate model experiments. By comparing a control run driven by preindustrial forcing and partial blocking runs driven by the same forcing but with ocean temperature and salinity restored to climatology in selected regions, subsurface oceanic signals of South Pacific origin are shown to precede SST variability in the Niño-3.4 region. Using a linear reduced-gravity ocean model driven only by wind stress changes and an offline tracer model, oceanic wave adjustment triggered by changes of wind stress curl in the South Pacific extratropics is suggested to be essential for the decadal component of the equatorial SST, while slower isopycnal advection of subsurface temperature anomalies from the formation region of South Pacific Eastern Subtropical Mode Water controls the bidecadal component. The intrinsic time scales of the tropical variability are regulated by simple linear ocean dynamics.

scholarly journals The Benguela Upwelling System: Quantifying the Sensitivity to Resolution and Coastal Wind Representation in a Global Climate Model*

2015 ◽  
Vol 28 (23) ◽  
pp. 9409-9432 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Justin Small ◽  
Enrique Curchitser ◽  
Katherine Hedstrom ◽  
Brian Kauffman ◽  
William G. Large
Keyword(s):  
Wind Stress ◽  
Climate Model ◽  
Coastal Upwelling ◽  
Ocean Model ◽  
Wind Stress Curl ◽  
Upwelling System ◽  
Wind Structure ◽  
Eastern Boundary ◽  
Benguela Upwelling ◽  
Atmosphere Model

Abstract Of all the major coastal upwelling systems in the world’s oceans, the Benguela, located off southwest Africa, is the one that climate models find hardest to simulate well. This paper investigates the sensitivity of upwelling processes, and of sea surface temperature (SST), in this region to resolution of the climate model and to the offshore wind structure. The Community Climate System Model (version 4) is used here, together with the Regional Ocean Modeling System. The main result is that a realistic wind stress curl at the eastern boundary, and a high-resolution ocean model, are required to well simulate the Benguela upwelling system. When the wind stress curl is too broad (as with a 1° atmosphere model or coarser), a Sverdrup balance prevails at the eastern boundary, implying southward ocean transport extending as far as 30°S and warm advection. Higher atmosphere resolution, up to 0.5°, does bring the atmospheric jet closer to the coast, but there can be too strong a wind stress curl. The most realistic representation of the upwelling system is found by adjusting the 0.5° atmosphere model wind structure near the coast toward observations, while using an eddy-resolving ocean model. A similar adjustment applied to a 1° ocean model did not show such improvement. Finally, the remote equatorial Atlantic response to restoring SST in a broad region offshore of Benguela is substantial; however, there is not a large response to correcting SST in the narrow coastal upwelling zone alone.

scholarly journals Using Eulerian and Lagrangian Approaches to Investigate Wind-Driven Changes in the Southern Ocean Abyssal Circulation

2013 ◽  
Vol 44 (2) ◽  
pp. 662-675 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Spence ◽  
Erik van Sebille ◽  
Oleg A. Saenko ◽  
Matthew H. England
Keyword(s):  
Southern Ocean ◽  
Wind Stress ◽  
Climate Model ◽  
Meridional Overturning Circulation ◽  
Global Ocean ◽  
Lagrangian Particle ◽  
Stress Changes ◽  
Abyssal Circulation ◽  
Flow Pathways ◽  
Ocean Wind

Abstract This study uses a global ocean eddy-permitting climate model to explore the export of abyssal water from the Southern Ocean and its sensitivity to projected twenty-first-century poleward-intensifying Southern Ocean wind stress. The abyssal flow pathways and transport are investigated using a combination of Lagrangian and Eulerian techniques. In an Eulerian format, the equator- and poleward flows within similar abyssal density classes are increased by the wind stress changes, making it difficult to explicitly diagnose changes in the abyssal export in a meridional overturning circulation framework. Lagrangian particle analyses are used to identify the major export pathways of Southern Ocean abyssal waters and reveal an increase in the number of particles exported to the subtropics from source regions around Antarctica in response to the wind forcing. Both the Lagrangian particle and Eulerian analyses identify transients as playing a key role in the abyssal export of water from the Southern Ocean. Wind-driven modifications to the potential energy component of the vorticity balance in the abyss are also found to impact the Southern Ocean barotropic circulation.

scholarly journals The Effect of Wind Stress on Seasonal Sea-Level Change on the Northwestern European Shelf

2022 ◽  
pp. 1-31
Keyword(s):  
Sea Level ◽  
Wind Stress ◽  
Sea Level Change ◽  
Ocean Model ◽  
Seasonal Differences ◽  
Sea Levels ◽  
Level Change ◽  
Stress Changes ◽  
European Shelf ◽  
Emissions Scenario

Abstract Projections of relative sea-level change (RSLC) are commonly reported at an annual mean basis. The seasonality of RSLC is often not considered, even though it may modulate the impacts of annual mean RSLC. Here, we study seasonal differences in 21st-century ocean dynamic sea-level change (DSLC, 2081-2100 minus 1995-2014) on the Northwestern European Shelf (NWES) and their drivers, using an ensemble of 33 CMIP6 models complemented with experiments performed with a regional ocean model. For the high-end emissions scenario SSP5-8.5, we find substantial seasonal differences in ensemble mean DSLC, especially in the southeastern North Sea. For example, at Esbjerg (Denmark), winter mean DSLC is on average 8.4 cm higher than summer mean DSLC. Along all coasts on the NWES, DSLC is higher in winter and spring than in summer and autumn. For the low-end emissions scenario SSP1-2.6, these seasonal differences are smaller. Our experiments indicate that the changes in winter and summer sea-level anomalies are mainly driven by regional changes in wind-stress anomalies, which are generally southwesterly and east-northeasterly over the NWES, respectively. In spring and autumn, regional wind-stress changes play a smaller role. We also show that CMIP6 models not resolving currents through the English Channel cannot accurately simulate the effect of seasonal wind-stress changes on he NWES. Our results imply that using projections of annual mean RSLC may underestimate the projected changes in extreme coastal sea levels in spring and winter. Additionally, changes in the seasonal sea-level cycle may affect groundwater dynamics and the inundation characteristics of intertidal ecosystems.

scholarly journals Southern Ocean Wind Stress in CMIP5 Models: Role of Wind Fluctuations

2020 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 1209-1226 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xia Lin ◽  
Xiaoming Zhai ◽  
Zhaomin Wang ◽  
David R. Munday
Keyword(s):  
Southern Ocean ◽  
Time Scales ◽  
Wind Stress ◽  
Surface Wind ◽  
Coupled Model ◽  
Cmip5 Models ◽  
Coupled Models ◽  
Surface Wind Stress ◽  
Stress Changes ◽  
The Mean

AbstractThe Southern Ocean (SO) surface wind stress is a major atmospheric forcing for driving the Antarctic Circumpolar Current and the global overturning circulation. Here the effects of wind fluctuations at different time scales on SO wind stress in 18 models from phase 5 of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5) are investigated. It is found that including wind fluctuations, especially on time scales associated with synoptic storms, in the stress calculation strongly enhances the mean strength, modulates the seasonal cycle, and significantly amplifies the trends of SO wind stress. In 11 out of the 18 CMIP5 models, the SO wind stress has strengthened significantly over the period of 1960–2005. Among them, the strengthening trend of SO wind stress in one CMIP5 model is due to the increase in the intensity of wind fluctuations, while in all the other 10 models the strengthening trend is due to the increasing strength of the mean westerly wind. These discrepancies in SO wind stress trend in CMIP5 models may explain some of the diverging behaviors in the model-simulated SO circulation. Our results suggest that to reduce the uncertainty in SO responses to wind stress changes in the coupled models, both the mean wind and wind fluctuations need to be better simulated.

scholarly journals Impacts of Wind Stress Changes on the Global Heat Transport, Baroclinic Instability, and the Thermohaline Circulation

2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 ◽  
pp. 1-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeferson Prietsch Machado ◽  
Flavio Justino ◽  
Luciano Ponzi Pezzi
Keyword(s):  
Southern Ocean ◽  
Wind Stress ◽  
Thermohaline Circulation ◽  
Climate Model ◽  
Baroclinic Instability ◽  
Equatorial Region ◽  
Sea Surface ◽  
Tropical Region ◽  
The North ◽  
Stress Changes

The wind stress is a measure of momentum transfer due to the relative motion between the atmosphere and the ocean. This study aims to investigate the anomalous pattern of atmospheric and oceanic circulations due to 50% increase in the wind stress over the equatorial region and the Southern Ocean. In this paper we use a coupled climate model of intermediate complexity (SPEEDO). The results show that the intensification of equatorial wind stress causes a decrease in sea surface temperature in the tropical region due to increased upwelling and evaporative cooling. On the other hand, the intensification of wind stress over the Southern Ocean induces a regional increase in the air and sea surface temperatures which in turn leads to a reduction in Antarctic sea ice thickness. This occurs in association with changes in the global thermohaline circulation strengthening the rate of Antarctic Bottom Water formation and a weakening of the North Atlantic Deep Water. Moreover, changes in the Southern Hemisphere thermal gradient lead to modified atmospheric and oceanic heat transports reducing the storm tracks and baroclinic activity.

scholarly journals Decadal Response of Global Circulation to Southern Ocean Zonal Wind Stress Perturbation

2009 ◽  
Vol 39 (8) ◽  
pp. 1888-1904 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barry A. Klinger ◽  
Carlos Cruz
Keyword(s):  
Southern Ocean ◽  
Southern Hemisphere ◽  
Time Scales ◽  
Wind Stress ◽  
Volume Transport ◽  
Ocean Model ◽  
Return Flow ◽  
Western Boundary ◽  
Boundary Current ◽  
Wind Variability

Abstract A substantial component of North Atlantic Deep Water formation may be driven by westerly wind stress over the Southern Ocean. Variability of this wind stress on decadal time scales may lead to circulation variability far from the forcing region. The Hybrid Coordinate Ocean Model (HYCOM), a numerical ocean model, is used to investigate the spatial patterns and the time scales associated with such wind variability. The evolution of circulation and density anomalies is observed by comparing one 80-yr simulation, forced in part by relatively strong Southern Hemisphere westerlies, with a simulation driven by climatological wind. The volume transport anomaly takes about 10 yr to reach near-full strength in the entire Southern Hemisphere; however, in the Northern Hemisphere, it grows for the duration of the run. The Southern Hemisphere Indo-Pacific volume transport anomaly is about twice the strength of that found in the Atlantic. In the thermocline, water exits the southern westerlies belt in a broad flow that feeds a western boundary current (WBC) in both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. These WBCs in turn feed an Indonesian Throughflow from the Pacific and cyclonic gyres in the far north, which are broadly consistent with the Stommel–Arons theory. The deep return flow in each hemisphere is strongly affected by deep-sea ridges, which leads to a number of midocean “WBCs.” The wind perturbation causes isopycnals to sink over most of the basin. After about 20 yr, this sinking is very roughly uniform with latitude, though it varies by basin.

scholarly journals A One-Dimensional Mixed Layer Ocean Model for Use in Three-Dimensional Climate Simulations: Control Simulation Compared to Observations

2005 ◽  
Vol 18 (13) ◽  
pp. 2199-2221 ◽  
Author(s):  
Monica Y. Stephens ◽  
Robert J. Oglesby ◽  
Martin Maxey
Keyword(s):  
Heat Flux ◽  
Mixed Layer ◽  
General Circulation ◽  
Climate Model ◽  
Mixed Layer Depth ◽  
Circulation Model ◽  
Ocean Model ◽  
Ocean Dynamics ◽  
One Dimensional ◽  
Mixed Layer Ocean

Abstract A study has been made of the dynamic interactions between the surface layer of the ocean and the atmosphere using a climate model that contains a new approach to predicting the sea surface temperature (SST). The atmospheric conditions are simulated numerically with the NCAR Community Climate Model (CCM3). The SST is determined by a modified Kraus–Turner-type one-dimensional mixed layer ocean model (MLOM) for the upper ocean that has been coupled to CCM3. The MLOM simulates vertical ocean dynamics and demonstrates the effects of the seasonal variation of mixed layer depth and convective instability on the SST. A purely thermodynamic slab ocean model (SOM) is currently available for use with CCM3 to predict the SST. A large-scale ocean general circulation model (OGCM) may also be coupled to CCM3; however, the OGCM is computationally intensive and is therefore not a good tool for conducting multiple sensitivity studies. The MLOM provides an alternative to the SOM that contains seasonally and spatially specified mixed layer depths. The SOM also contains a heat flux correction called Q-flux that crudely accounts for ocean heat transport by artificially specifying a heat flux that forces the SOM to replicate the observed SST. The results of the coupled MLOM–CCM3 reveal that the MLOM may be used on a global scale and can therefore replace the standard coupled SOM–CCM3 that contains no explicit ocean dynamics. Additionally, stand-alone experiments of the MLOM that are forced with realistic winds, heat, and moisture fluxes show that the MLOM closely approximates the observed seasonal cycle of SST.

scholarly journals Observed Transport Variability of the Atlantic Subtropical Cells and Their Connection to Tropical Sea Surface Temperature Variability

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Franz Philip Tuchen ◽  
Joke F. Lübbecke ◽  
Peter Brandt ◽  
Yao Fu
Keyword(s):  
Surface Temperature ◽  
Sea Surface Temperature ◽  
Time Scales ◽  
Wind Stress ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Sea Surface ◽  
Ekman Transport ◽  
Western Boundary ◽  
Eastern Boundary ◽  
Stress Changes

<p>The shallow meridional overturning cells of the Atlantic Ocean, the subtropical cells (STCs), consist of poleward Ekman transport at the surface, subduction in the subtropics, equatorward flow at thermocline level and upwelling along the equator and at the eastern boundary. In this study, we provide the first observational estimate of transport variability associated with the horizontal branches of the Atlantic STCs in both hemispheres based on Argo float data and supplemented by reanalysis products.</p><p>Thermocline layer transport convergence and surface layer transport divergence between 10°N and 10°S are dominated by seasonal variability. Meridional thermocline layer transport anomalies at the western boundary and in the interior basin are anti-correlated and partially compensate each other at all resolved time scales. It is suggested that the seesaw-like relation is forced by the large-scale off-equatorial wind stress changes through low-baroclinic-mode Rossby wave adjustment. We further show that anomalies of the thermocline layer interior transport convergence modulate sea surface temperature (SST) variability in the upwelling regions along the equator and at the eastern boundary at time scales longer than 5 years. Phases of weaker (stronger) interior transport are associated with phases of higher (lower) equatorial SST. At these time scales, STC transport variability is forced by off-equatorial wind stress changes, especially by those in the southern hemisphere. At shorter time scales, equatorial SST anomalies are, instead, mainly forced by local changes of zonal wind stress.</p>

On the Influence of Random Wind Stress Errors on the Four-Dimensional, Midlatitude Ocean Inverse Problem

2009 ◽  
Vol 137 (6) ◽  
pp. 1844-1862
Author(s):  
Tsuyoshi Wakamatsu ◽  
Michael G. G. Foreman ◽  
Patrick F. Cummins ◽  
Josef Y. Cherniawsky
Keyword(s):  
Inverse Problem ◽  
Wind Stress ◽  
A Priori ◽  
Ocean Dynamics ◽  
Wind Stress Curl ◽  
Error Covariance ◽  
Model State ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Stress Error ◽  
State Error

Abstract The effects of the parameterized wind stress error covariance function on the a priori error covariance of an ocean general circulation model (OGCM) are examined. These effects are diagnosed by computing the projection of the a priori model state error covariance matrix to sea surface height (SSH). The sensitivities of the a priori error covariance to the wind stress curl error are inferred from the a priori SSH error covariance and are shown to differ between the subpolar and subtropical gyres because of different contributions from barotropic and baroclinic ocean dynamics. The spatial structure of the SSH error covariance due to the wind stress error indicates that the a priori model state error is determined indirectly by the wind stress curl error. The impact of this sensitivity on the solution of a four-dimensional inverse problem is inferred.

Multidecadal simulation of the tropical and subtropical South Atlantic Ocean with a high resolution ocean model forced by ERA-5 reanalysis data

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Schmidt ◽  
Hadi Bordbar ◽  
Fernanda Nascimento ◽  
Claudia Frauen
Keyword(s):  
High Resolution ◽  
Wind Stress ◽  
Ocean Circulation ◽  
Reanalysis Data ◽  
Ocean Model ◽  
Ecosystem Dynamics ◽  
Boundary Current ◽  
Wind Stress Curl ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Upwelling Intensity

<p>High resolution regional ocean circulation models are needed to investigate regional ecosystem dynamics. However, these models may suffer from biases due to shortcomings in reanalysis datasets like NCEP or ERA-Interin, that have traditionally been used as atmospheric forcing. More realistic results can be achieved by replacing the reanalysed wind with scatterometer based winds. However, inconsistencies between different scatterometers like ASCAT and QuikSCAT introduce new uncertainty, which prevents a discussion of long-term trends in these models. The ERA-5 reanalysis offers a new consistent data set to force highly resolving regional ocean models. Based on such a simulation we analyse trends and anomalies in poleward currents in the Eastern Boundary Current off Southern Africa and Northern Benguela upwelling intensity due to changing wind stress and wind stress curl. Model results are validated with remote sensing as well as shipborne and mooring data. Further, variability of oxygen conditions in the Northern Benguela and the Angola Gyre oxygen minimum zone is discussed. </p>

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