scholarly journals Enhanced Wind-Driven Downwelling Flow in Warm Oceanic Eddy Features during the Intensification of Tropical Cyclone Isaac (2012): Observations and Theory

2015 ◽  
Vol 45 (6) ◽  
pp. 1667-1689 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin Jaimes ◽  
Lynn K. Shay
Keyword(s):  
Mixed Layer ◽  
Numerical Models ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Ocean Warming ◽  
Sea Surface ◽  
Upper Ocean ◽  
Ekman Pumping ◽  
Flow Strength ◽  
Oceanic Mixed Layer ◽  
Oceanic Eddy

AbstractTropical cyclones (TCs) typically produce intense oceanic upwelling underneath the storm’s center and weaker and broader downwelling outside upwelled regions. However, several cases of predominantly downwelling responses over warm, anticyclonic mesoscale oceanic features were recently reported, where the ensuing upper-ocean warming prevented significant cooling of the sea surface, and TCs rapidly attained and maintained major status. Elucidating downwelling responses is critical to better understanding TC intensification over warm mesoscale oceanic features. Airborne ocean profilers deployed over the Gulf of Mexico’s eddy features during the intensification of tropical storm Isaac into a hurricane measured isothermal downwelling of up to 60 m over a 12-h interval (5 m h−1) or twice the upwelling strength underneath the storm’s center. This displacement occurred over a warm-core eddy that extended underneath Isaac’s left side, where the ensuing upper-ocean warming was ~8 kW m−2; sea surface temperatures >28°C prevailed during Isaac’s intensification. Rather than with just Ekman pumping WE, these observed upwelling–downwelling responses were consistent with a vertical velocity Ws = WE − Rogδ(Uh + UOML); Ws is the TC-driven pumping velocity, derived from the dominant vorticity balance that considers geostrophic flow strength (measured by the eddy Rossby number Rog = ζg/f), geostrophic vorticity ζg, Coriolis frequency f, aspect ratio δ = h/Rmax, oceanic mixed layer thickness h, storm’s radius of maximum winds Rmax, total surface stresses from storm motion Uh, and oceanic mixed layer Ekman drift UOML. These results underscore the need for initializing coupled numerical models with realistic ocean states to correctly resolve the three-dimensional upwelling–downwelling responses and improve TC intensity forecasting.

scholarly journals Fine-scale features on the sea surface in SAR satellite imagery – Part 1: Simultaneous in-situ measurements

2012 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 2885-2914 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Soloviev ◽  
C. Maingot ◽  
S. Matt ◽  
R. E. Dodge ◽  
S. Lehner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Numerical Models ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Companion Paper ◽  
In Situ Measurements ◽  
Ocean Dynamics ◽  
Sea Surface ◽  
Upper Ocean ◽  
Fine Scale ◽  
Sar Imagery

Abstract. This work is aimed at identifying the origin of fine-scale features on the sea surface in synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery with the help of in-situ measurements as well as numerical models (presented in a companion paper). We are interested in natural and artificial features starting from the horizontal scale of the upper ocean mixed layer, around 30–50 m. These features are often associated with three-dimensional upper ocean dynamics. We have conducted a number of studies involving in-situ observations in the Straits of Florida during SAR satellite overpass. The data include examples of sharp frontal interfaces, wakes of surface ships, internal wave signatures, as well as slicks of artificial and natural origin. Atmospheric processes, such as squall lines and rain cells, produced prominent signatures on the sea surface. This data has allowed us to test an approach for distinguishing between natural and artificial features and atmospheric influences in SAR images that is based on a co-polarized phase difference filter.

scholarly journals Quasigeostrophic Diagnosis of Mixed Layer Dynamics Embedded in a Mesoscale Turbulent Field

2016 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 275-287 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cédric P. Chavanne ◽  
Patrice Klein
Keyword(s):  
Surface Layer ◽  
High Resolution ◽  
Mixed Layer ◽  
Finite Thickness ◽  
Vertical Mixing ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Upper Ocean ◽  
Surface Mixed Layer ◽  
Deep Interior ◽  
Quasigeostrophic Model

AbstractA quasigeostrophic model is developed to diagnose the three-dimensional circulation, including the vertical velocity, in the upper ocean from high-resolution observations of sea surface height and buoyancy. The formulation for the adiabatic component departs from the classical surface quasigeostrophic framework considered before since it takes into account the stratification within the surface mixed layer that is usually much weaker than that in the ocean interior. To achieve this, the model approximates the ocean with two constant stratification layers: a finite-thickness surface layer (or the mixed layer) and an infinitely deep interior layer. It is shown that the leading-order adiabatic circulation is entirely determined if both the surface streamfunction and buoyancy anomalies are considered. The surface layer further includes a diabatic dynamical contribution. Parameterization of diabatic vertical velocities is based on their restoring impacts of the thermal wind balance that is perturbed by turbulent vertical mixing of momentum and buoyancy. The model skill in reproducing the three-dimensional circulation in the upper ocean from surface data is checked against the output of a high-resolution primitive equation numerical simulation.

scholarly journals How Does Solar Attenuation Depth Affect the Ocean Mixed Layer? Water Turbidity and Atmospheric Forcing Impacts on the Simulation of Seasonal Mixed Layer Variability in the Turbid Black Sea*

2005 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 389-409 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Birol Kara ◽  
Alan J. Wallcraft ◽  
Harley E. Hurlburt
Keyword(s):  
Solar Radiation ◽  
Black Sea ◽  
Mixed Layer ◽  
Sea Surface ◽  
Shortwave Radiation ◽  
Altimeter Data ◽  
The Black Sea ◽  
Upper Ocean ◽  
Clear Water ◽  
Water Turbidity

Abstract A fine-resolution (≈3.2 km) Hybrid Coordinate Ocean Model (HYCOM) is used to investigate the impact of solar radiation attenuation with depth on the predictions of monthly mean sea surface height (SSH), mixed layer depth (MLD), buoyancy and heat fluxes, and near-sea surface circulation as well. The model uses spatially and temporally varying attenuation of photosynthetically available radiation (kPAR) climatologies as processed from the remotely sensed Sea-Viewing Wide Field-of-View Sensor (SeaWiFS) to take water turbidity into account in the Black Sea. An examination of the kPAR climatology reveals a strong seasonal cycle in the water turbidity, with a basin-averaged annual climatological mean value of 0.19 m−1 over the Black Sea. Climatologically forced HYCOM simulations demonstrate that shortwave radiation below the mixed layer can be quite different based on the water turbidity, thereby affecting prediction of upper-ocean quantities in the Black Sea. The clear water constant solar attenuation depth assumption results in relatively deeper MLD (e.g., ≈+15 m in winter) in comparison to standard simulations due to the unrealistically large amount of shortwave radiation below the mixed layer, up to 100 W m−2 during April to October. Such unrealistic sub–mixed layer heating causes weaker stratification at the base of the mixed layer. The buoyancy gain associated with high solar heating in summer effectively stabilizes the upper ocean producing shallow mixed layers and elevated SSH over the most of the Black Sea. In particular, the increased stability resulting from the water turbidity reduces vertical mixing in the upper ocean and causes changes in surface-layer currents, especially in the easternmost part of the Black Sea. Monthly mean SSH anomalies from the climatologically forced HYCOM simulations were evaluated against a monthly mean SSH anomaly climatology, which was constructed using satellite altimeter data from TOPEX/ Poseidon (T/P), Geosat Follow-On (GFO), and the Earth Remote Sensing Satellite-2 (ERS-2) over 1993–2002. Model–data comparisons show that the basin-averaged root-mean-square (rms) difference is ≈4 cm between the satellite-based SSH climatology and that obtained from HYCOM simulations using spatial and temporal kPAR fields. In contrast, when all solar radiation is absorbed at the sea surface or clear water constant solar attenuation depth values of 16.7 m are used in the model simulations, the basin-averaged SSH rms difference with respect to the climatology is ≈6 cm (≈50% more). This demonstrates positive impact from using monthly varying solar attenuation depths in simulating upper-ocean quantities in the Black Sea. The monthly mean kPAR and SSH anomaly climatologies presented in this paper can also be used for other Black Sea studies.

scholarly journals Reconstructing Upper-Ocean Vertical Velocity Field from Sea Surface Height in the Presence of Unbalanced Motion

2020 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-79 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bo Qiu ◽  
Shuiming Chen ◽  
Patrice Klein ◽  
Hector Torres ◽  
Jinbo Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Correlation ◽  
Mixed Layer ◽  
Vertical Velocity ◽  
Measurement Errors ◽  
Kuroshio Extension ◽  
Sea Surface Height ◽  
Horizontal Resolution ◽  
Sea Surface ◽  
Upper Ocean ◽  
The Impact

AbstractReconstructability of upper-ocean vertical velocity w and vorticity ζ fields from high-resolution sea surface height (SSH) data is explored using the global 1/48° horizontal-resolution MITgcm output in the context of the forthcoming Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) mission. By decomposing w with an omega equation of the primitive equation system and by taking into account the measurement design of the SWOT mission, this study seeks to reconstruct the subinertial, balanced w and ζ signals. By adopting the effective surface quasigeostrophic (eSQG) framework and applying to the Kuroshio Extension region of the North Pacific, we find that the target and reconstructed fields have a spatial correlation of ~0.7 below the mixed layer for w and 0.7–0.9 throughout the 1000-m upper ocean for ζ in the error-free scenario. By taking the SWOT sampling and measurement errors into account, the spatial correlation is found to decrease to 0.4–0.6 below the mixed layer for w and 0.6–0.7 for ζ, respectively. For both w and ζ reconstruction, the degradation due to the SWOT errors is more significant in the surface layer and for smaller-scale signals. The impact of errors lessens with the increasing depth and lengthening horizontal scales.

Limitation of One-Dimensional Ocean Models for Coupled Hurricane–Ocean Model Forecasts

2009 ◽  
Vol 137 (12) ◽  
pp. 4410-4419 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard M. Yablonsky ◽  
Isaac Ginis
Keyword(s):  
North Atlantic Ocean ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Ocean Model ◽  
Sea Surface ◽  
Upper Ocean ◽  
Surface Cooling ◽  
One Dimensional ◽  
Sea Surface Cooling ◽  
Ocean Models ◽  
The One

Abstract Wind stress imposed on the upper ocean by a hurricane can limit the hurricane’s intensity primarily through shear-induced mixing of the upper ocean and subsequent cooling of the sea surface. Since shear-induced mixing is a one-dimensional process, some recent studies suggest that coupling a one-dimensional ocean model to a hurricane model may be sufficient for capturing the storm-induced sea surface temperature cooling in the region providing heat energy to the hurricane. Using both a one-dimensional and a three-dimensional version of the same ocean model, it is shown here that the neglect of upwelling, which can only be captured by a three-dimensional ocean model, underestimates the storm-core sea surface cooling for hurricanes translating at <∼5 m s−1. For hurricanes translating at <2 m s−1, more than half of the storm-core sea surface cooling is neglected by the one-dimensional ocean model. Since the majority of hurricanes in the western tropical North Atlantic Ocean translate at <5 m s−1, the idealized experiments presented here suggest that one-dimensional ocean models may be inadequate for coupled hurricane–ocean model forecasting.

scholarly journals Upper-Ocean Mixed Layer and Wintertime Sea Surface Temperature Anomalies in the North Pacific

2006 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 300-307 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tomohiko Tomita ◽  
Masami Nonaka
Keyword(s):  
Surface Temperature ◽  
Sea Surface Temperature ◽  
Mixed Layer ◽  
North Pacific ◽  
Sea Surface ◽  
Upper Ocean ◽  
Ocean Mixed Layer ◽  
The North ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The North Pacific

Abstract In the North Pacific, the wintertime sea surface temperature anomaly (SSTA), which is represented by March (SSTAMar), when the upper-ocean mixed layer depth (hMar) reaches its maximum, is formed by the anomalous surface forcing from fall to winter (S′). As a parameter of volume, hMar has a potential to modify the impact of S′ on SSTAMar. Introducing an upper-ocean heat budget equation, the present study identifies the physical relationship among the spatial distributions of hMar, S′, and SSTAMar. The long-term mean of hMar adjusts the spatial distribution of SSTAMar. Without the adjustment, the impact of S′ on SSTAMar is overestimated where the hMar mean is deep. Since hMar is partially due to seawater temperature, it leads to nonlinearity between the S′ and the SSTAMar. When the SSTAMar is negative (positive), the sensitivity to S′ is impervious (responsive) with the deepening (shoaling) of the hMar compared to the linear sensitivity. The thermal impacts from the ocean to the atmosphere might be underestimated under the assumption of the linear relationship.

scholarly journals Chlorophyll Concentration Response to the Typhoon Wind-Pump Induced Upper Ocean Processes Considering Air–Sea Heat Exchange

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (15) ◽  
pp. 1825 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yupeng Liu ◽  
Danling Tang ◽  
Morozov Evgeny
Keyword(s):  
Heat Flux ◽  
Heat Exchange ◽  
Chlorophyll Concentration ◽  
Sea Surface ◽  
Cyclonic Eddy ◽  
Upper Ocean ◽  
Ekman Pumping ◽  
Chl A ◽  
Typhoon Wind ◽  
Ocean Processes

The typhoon Wind-Pump induced upwelling and cold eddy often promote the significant growth of phytoplankton after the typhoon. However, the importance of eddy-pumping and wind-driven upwelling on the sea surface chlorophyll a concentration (Chl-a) during the typhoon are still not clearly distinguished. In addition, the air–sea heat flux exchange is closely related to the upper ocean processes, but few studies have discussed its role in the sea surface Chl-a variations under typhoon conditions. Based on the cruise data, remote sensing data, and model data, this paper analyzes the contribution of the vertical motion caused by the eddy-pumping upwelling and Ekman pumping upwelling on the surface Chl-a, and quantitatively analyzes the influence of air–sea heat exchange on the surface Chl-a after the typhoon Linfa over the northeastern South China Sea (NSCS) in 2009. The results reveal the Wind Pump impacts on upper ocean processes: (1) The euphotic layer-integrated Chl-a increased after the typhoon, and the increasing of the surface Chl-a was not only the uplift of the deeper waters with high Chl-a but also the growth of the phytoplankton; (2) The Net Heat Flux (air–sea heat exchange) played a major role in controlling the upper ocean physical processes through cooling the SST and indirectly increased the surface Chl-a until two weeks after the typhoon; (3) the typhoon-induced cyclonic eddy was the most important physical process in increasing the surface Chl-a rather than the Ekman pumping and wind-stirring mixing after typhoon; (4) the spatial shift between the surface Chl-a blooms and the typhoon-induced cyclonic eddy could be due to the Ekman transport; (5) nutrients uplifting and adequate light were two major biochemical elements supplying for the growth of surface phytoplankton.

scholarly journals Satellite Observations of Typhoon-Induced Sea Surface Temperature Variability in the Upwelling Region off Northeastern Taiwan

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (20) ◽  
pp. 3321
Author(s):  
Yi-Chun Kuo ◽  
Ming-An Lee ◽  
Yi Chang
Keyword(s):  
Surface Temperature ◽  
Sea Surface Temperature ◽  
Numerical Models ◽  
Kuroshio Current ◽  
Taiwan Strait ◽  
Satellite Observations ◽  
Sea Surface ◽  
Subsurface Water ◽  
Ekman Pumping ◽  
The Kuroshio

Typhoon-induced cooling in the cold dome region off northeastern Taiwan has a major influence on ocean biogeochemistry. It has previously been studied using numerical models and hydrographic observations. Strong cooling is related to upwelling of the Kuroshio subsurface water accompanied by the westward intrusion of the continental shelf by Kuroshio water. By employing satellite observations, local measurements, and a reanalysis of model data, this study compared 18 typhoon-induced sea surface temperature (SST) responses in the cold dome region and determined that SST responses can differ dramatically depending on the relative location of a typhoon path, the Kuroshio Current, and the topography off northeastern Taiwan. The results indicated that local westward and northward wind stress is positively correlated with upwelling intensity. Decreased northward transport in the Taiwan Strait created a condition that favored the Kuroshio intrusion, thus, the typhoon-induced change in Taiwan Strait transport was also positively correlated with the intensity of cooling. However, the strength of Ekman pumping was weakly correlated with the intensity of SST cooling. Nevertheless, Ekman pumping helped reduce the cover of warm water, facilitating the intrusion of the Kuroshio Current.

Diagnosing Subsurface Vertical Velocities from High-Resolution Sea Surface Fields

2021 ◽  
Vol 51 (5) ◽  
pp. 1353-1373
Author(s):  
Lei Liu ◽  
Huijie Xue ◽  
Hideharu Sasaki
Keyword(s):  
High Resolution ◽  
Mixed Layer ◽  
Kuroshio Extension ◽  
Vertical Mixing ◽  
Cold Season ◽  
Horizontal Resolution ◽  
Sea Surface ◽  
Upper Ocean ◽  
Satellite Mission ◽  
The North

AbstractUsing the extended “interior + surface quasigeostrophic” method from the 2019 study by Liu et al. (hereafter L19), subsurface density and horizontal velocities can be reconstructed from sea surface buoyancy and surface height. This study explores the potential of L19 for diagnosing the upper-ocean vertical velocity w field from high-resolution surface information, employing the 1/30° horizontal resolution OFES model output. Specifically, we employ the L19-reconstructed density and horizontal velocity fields in a diabatic version of the omega equation that incorporates a simplified parameterization for turbulent vertical mixing. The w diagnosis is evaluated against OFES output in the Kuroshio Extension region of the North Pacific, and the result indicates that the L19 method constitutes an effective framework. Statistically, the OFES-simulated and L19-diagnosed w fields have a 2-yr-averaged spatial correlation of 0.42–0.51 within the mixed layer and 0.51–0.67 throughout the 1000-m upper ocean below the mixed layer. Including the diabatic turbulent mixing effect has improved the w diagnoses inside the mixed layer, particularly for the cold-season days with the largest correlation improvement reaching 0.31. Our encouraging results suggest that the L19 method can be applied to the high-resolution sea surface height data from the forthcoming Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite mission for reconstructing 3D hydrodynamic conditions of the upper ocean.

scholarly journals Reconstructability of Three-Dimensional Upper-Ocean Circulation from SWOT Sea Surface Height Measurements

2016 ◽  
Vol 46 (3) ◽  
pp. 947-963 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bo Qiu ◽  
Shuiming Chen ◽  
Patrice Klein ◽  
Clement Ubelmann ◽  
Lee-Lueng Fu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ocean Circulation ◽  
Measurement Errors ◽  
Kuroshio Extension ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Sea Surface Height ◽  
Relative Vorticity ◽  
Sea Surface ◽  
Upper Ocean ◽  
Model Output ◽  
Satellite Mission

AbstractUtilizing the framework of effective surface quasigeostrophic (eSQG) theory, this study explores the potential of reconstructing the 3D upper-ocean circulation structures, including the balanced vertical velocity w field, from high-resolution sea surface height (SSH) data of the planned Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite mission. Specifically, the authors utilize the 1/30°, submesoscale-resolving, OFES model output and subject it to the SWOT simulator that generates the along-swath SSH data with expected measurement errors. Focusing on the Kuroshio Extension region in the North Pacific where regional Rossby numbers range from 0.22 to 0.32, this study finds that the eSQG dynamics constitute an effective framework for reconstructing the 3D upper-ocean circulation field. Using the modeled SSH data as input, the eSQG-reconstructed relative vorticity ζ and w fields are found to reach a correlation of 0.7–0.9 and 0.6–0.7, respectively, in the 1000-m upper ocean when compared to the original model output. Degradation due to the SWOT sampling and measurement errors in the input SSH data for the ζ and w reconstructions is found to be moderate, 5%–25% for the 3D ζ field and 15%–35% for the 3D w field. There exists a tendency for this degradation ratio to decrease in regions where the regional eddy variability (or Rossby number) increases.

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