scholarly journals The Thermally Driven Ocean Circulation with Realistic Bathymetry

2018 ◽  
Vol 48 (3) ◽  
pp. 647-665 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ada Gjermundsen ◽  
Joseph H. LaCasce ◽  
Liv Denstad
Keyword(s):  
Temperature Gradient ◽  
Surface Temperature ◽  
Ocean Circulation ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Western Boundary ◽  
The North ◽  
Surface Gradient ◽  
Thermally Driven ◽  
Surface Temperature Gradient

AbstractThe global circulation driven solely by relaxation to an idealized surface temperature profile and to interior mixing is examined. Forcing by winds and evaporation/precipitation is excluded. The resulting circulation resembles the observed in many ways, and the overturning is of similar magnitude. The overturning is driven by large-scale upwelling in the interior (which is relatively large, because of the use of a constant mixing coefficient). The compensating downwelling occurs in the northern North Atlantic and in the Ross and Weddell Seas, with an additional, smaller contribution from the northern North Pacific. The latter is weaker because the Bering Strait limits the northward extent of the flow. The downwelling occurs in frictional layers near the boundaries and depends on the lateral shear in the horizontal flow. The shear, in turn, is linked to the imposed surface temperature gradient via thermal wind, and as such, the downwelling can be reduced or eliminated in selected regions by removing the surface gradient. Doing so in the northern North Atlantic causes the (thermally driven) Antarctic Circumpolar Current to intensify, increasing the sinking along Antarctica. Eliminating the surface gradient in the Southern Ocean increases the sinking in the North Atlantic and Pacific. As there is upwelling also in the western boundary currents, the flow must increase even more to accomplish the necessary downwelling. The implications of the results are then considered, particularly with respect to Arctic intensification of global warming, which will reduce the surface temperature gradient.

scholarly journals Stochastic Forcing of Ocean Variability by the North Atlantic Oscillation

2009 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 162-184 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kettyah C. Chhak ◽  
Andrew M. Moore ◽  
Ralph F. Milliff
Keyword(s):  
North Atlantic Oscillation ◽  
Ocean Circulation ◽  
Rossby Wave ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Western Boundary ◽  
Stochastic Forcing ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Atlantic ◽  
The North Atlantic Oscillation

Abstract At middle and high latitudes, the magnitude of stochastic wind stress forcing of the ocean by atmospheric variability on synoptic time scales (i.e., “weather” related variability) is comparable to that of the seasonal cycle. Stochastic forcing may therefore have a significant influence on the ocean circulation, climate, and ocean predictability. Here, the influence of stochastic forcing associated with the North Atlantic Oscillation on the subtropical gyre circulation of the North Atlantic is explored in an eddy-permitting quasigeostrophic framework. For the North Atlantic winds used in this study, the root-mean-square of the annual average Ekman pumping velocity of the seasonal cycle between 35° and 52°N is 1.3 × 10−7 m s−1, while the wintertime standard deviation of the stochastic component of the North Atlantic Oscillation over the same latitude band is 2.2 × 10−7 m s−1. Significant stochastically induced variability in the ocean circulation occurs near the western boundary region and along the western margins of the abyssal plains associated with vortex stretching, energy release from the mean flow, and the generation of topographic Rossby waves. Variability arises from a combination of two effects, depending on the measure of variance used: growth of unstable modes of the underlying circulation and modal interference resulting from their nonnormal nature, which dominates during the first 10 days or so of perturbation growth. Near the surface, most of the variability is associated with large-scale changes in the barotropic circulation, although more than 20% of the energy and enstrophy variability is associated with small-scale baroclinic waves. In the deep ocean, much of the stochastically induced variability is apparently due to topographic Rossby wave activity along the continental rise and ocean ridges. Previous studies have demonstrated that rectification of topographic Rossby wave–induced circulations in the western North Atlantic may contribute to the western boundary current recirculation zones. The authors suggest that a source of topographic Rossby wave energy, significant enough to rectify the mean ocean circulation, may arise from stochastic forcing by large-scale atmospheric forcing, such as the North Atlantic Oscillation and other atmospheric teleconnection patterns.

Variability of the Meridional Overturning in the North Atlantic from the 50-Year GECCO State Estimation

2008 ◽  
Vol 38 (9) ◽  
pp. 1913-1930 ◽  
Author(s):  
Armin Köhl ◽  
Detlef Stammer
Keyword(s):  
Time Scales ◽  
Ocean Circulation ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
Meridional Overturning Circulation ◽  
Special Focus ◽  
Western Boundary ◽  
Consistent Estimate ◽  
The North ◽  
Meridional Overturning ◽  
The North Atlantic

Abstract The German partner of the consortium for Estimating the Circulation and Climate of the Ocean (GECCO) provided a dynamically consistent estimate of the time-varying ocean circulation over the 50-yr period 1952–2001. The GECCO synthesis combines most of the data available during the entire estimation period with the ECCO–Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) ocean circulation model using its adjoint. This GECCO estimate is analyzed here for the period 1962–2001 with respect to decadal and longer-term changes of the meridional overturning circulation (MOC) of the North Atlantic. A special focus is on the maximum MOC values at 25°N. Over this period, the dynamically self-consistent synthesis stays within the error bars of H. L. Bryden et al., but reveals a general increase of the MOC strength. The variability on decadal and longer time scales is decomposed into contributions from different processes. Changes in the model’s MOC strength are strongly influenced by the southward communication of density anomalies along the western boundary originating from the subpolar North Atlantic, which are related to changes in the Denmark Strait overflow but are only marginally influenced by water mass formation in the Labrador Sea. The influence of density anomalies propagating along the southern edge of the subtropical gyre associated with baroclinically unstable Rossby waves is found to be equally important. Wind-driven processes such as local Ekman transport explain a smaller fraction of the variability on those long time scales.

scholarly journals Evidence for Two Distinct Modes of Large-Scale Ocean Circulation Changes over the Last Century

2010 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mihai Dima ◽  
Gerrit Lohmann
Keyword(s):  
Ocean Circulation ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Climate Changes ◽  
Thermohaline Circulation ◽  
Conveyor Belt ◽  
The North ◽  
Symmetric Pattern ◽  
The North Atlantic ◽  
Circulation Changes

Abstract Through its nonlinear dynamics and involvement in past abrupt climate shifts the thermohaline circulation (THC) represents a key element for the understanding of rapid climate changes. The expected THC weakening under global warming is characterized by large uncertainties, and it is therefore of significant importance to identify ocean circulation changes over the last century. By applying various statistical techniques on two global sea surface temperature datasets two THC-related modes are separated. The first one involves relatively slow adjustment of the whole conveyor belt circulation and has an interhemispherically symmetric pattern. The second mode is associated with the relatively fast adjustment of the North Atlantic overturning cell and has the seesaw structure. Based on the separation of these two patterns the authors show that the global conveyor has been weakening since the late 1930s and that the North Atlantic overturning cell suffered an abrupt shift around 1970. The distinction between the two modes provides also a new frame for interpreting past abrupt climate changes.

scholarly journals Stochastic Forcing of the North Atlantic Wind-Driven Ocean Circulation. Part I: A Diagnostic Analysis of the Ocean Response to Stochastic Forcing

2006 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 300-315 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kettyah C. Chhak ◽  
Andrew M. Moore ◽  
Ralph F. Milliff ◽  
Grant Branstator ◽  
William R. Holland ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Wind Stress ◽  
Ocean Circulation ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
Induced Response ◽  
Western Boundary ◽  
Transient Growth ◽  
Stochastic Forcing ◽  
Stochastic Component ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Atlantic

Abstract At midlatitudes, the magnitude of stochastic wind stress forcing due to atmospheric weather is comparable to that associated with the seasonal cycle. Stochastic forcing is therefore likely to have a significant influence on the ocean circulation. In this work, the influence of the stochastic component of the wind stress forcing on the large-scale, wind-driven circulation of the North Atlantic Ocean is examined. To this end, a quasigeostrophic model of the North Atlantic was forced with estimates of the stochastic component of wind stress curl obtained from the NCAR Community Climate Model. Analysis reveals that much of the stochastically induced variability in the ocean circulation occurs in the vicinity of the western boundary and some major bathymetric features. Thus, the response is localized even though the stochastic forcing occurs over most of the ocean basin. Using the ideas of generalized stability theory, the stochastically induced response in the ocean circulation can be interpreted as a linear interference of the nonorthogonal eigenmodes of the system. This linear interference process yields transient growth of stochastically induced perturbations. By examining the model pseudospectra, it is seen that the nonnormal nature of the system enhances the transient growth of perturbation enstrophy and therefore elevates and maintains the variance of the stochastically induced circulations in the aforementioned regions. The primary causes of nonnormality in the enstrophy norm are bathymetry and the western boundary current circulation.

scholarly journals Stochastic Forcing of the North Atlantic Wind-Driven Ocean Circulation. Part II: An Analysis of the Dynamical Ocean Response Using Generalized Stability Theory

2006 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 316-334 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kettyah C. Chhak ◽  
Andrew M. Moore ◽  
Ralph F. Milliff ◽  
Grant Branstator ◽  
William R. Holland ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Wind Stress ◽  
Ocean Circulation ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
Boundary Region ◽  
Western Boundary ◽  
Transient Growth ◽  
Wind Stress Curl ◽  
Stochastic Forcing ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Atlantic

Abstract As discussed in Part I of this study, the magnitude of the stochastic component of wind stress forcing is comparable to that of the seasonal cycle and thus will likely have a significant influence on the ocean circulation. By forcing a quasigeostrophic model of the North Atlantic Ocean circulation with stochastic wind stress curl data from the NCAR CCM3, it was found in Part I that much of the stochastically induced variability in the ocean circulation is confined to the western boundary region and some major topographic features even though the stochastic forcing is basinwide. This can be attributed to effects of bathymetry and vorticity gradients in the basic state on the system eigenmodes. Using generalized stability theory (GST), it was found in Part I that transient growth due to the linear interference of nonnormal eigenmodes enhances the stochastically induced variance. In the present study, the GST analysis of Part I is extended and it is found that the patterns of wind stress curl that are most effective for inducing variability in the model have their largest projection on the most nonnormal eigenmodes of the system. These eigenmodes are confined primarily to the western boundary region and are composed of long Rossby wave packets that are Doppler shifted by the Gulf Stream to have eastward group velocity. Linear interference of these eigenmodes yields transient growth of stochastically induced perturbations, and it is this process that maintains the variance of the stochastically induced circulations. Analysis of the large-scale circulation also reveals that the system possesses a large number of degrees of freedom, which has significant implications for ocean prediction. Sensitivity studies show that the results and conclusions of this study are insensitive and robust to variations in model parameters and model configuration.

scholarly journals Impact of the oceanic geothermal heat flux on a glacial ocean state

2015 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 3597-3624 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Ballarotta ◽  
F. Roquet ◽  
S. Falahat ◽  
Q. Zhang ◽  
G. Madec
Keyword(s):  
Ocean Circulation ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
Time Scale ◽  
Ekman Transport ◽  
Western Boundary ◽  
Characteristic Time Scale ◽  
Boundary Current ◽  
Geothermal Heating ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Atlantic

Abstract. The oceanic geothermal heating (OGH) has a significant impact on the present-day ocean state, but its role during glacial periods, when the ocean circulation and stratification were different from those of today, remains poorly known. In the present study, we analyzed the response of the glacial ocean to OGH, by comparing ocean simulations of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM, ∼ 21 ka ago) including or not geothermal heating. We found that applying the OGH warmed the Antarctic Bottom Waters (AABW) by ∼ 0.4 °C and increased the abyssal circulation by 15 to 30 % north of 30° S in the deep Pacific and Atlantic basins. The geothermally heated deep waters were then advected toward the Southern Ocean where they upwelled to the surface due to the Ekman transport. The extra heat transport towards Antarctica acted to reduce the amount of sea ice contributing to the freshening of the whole AABW overturning cell. The global amount of salt being conserved, this bottom freshening induced a salinification of the North Atlantic and North Pacific surface and intermediate waters, contributing to the deepening of the North Atlantic Deep Water. This indirect mechanism is responsible for the largest observed warming, found in the North Atlantic deep western boundary current between 2000 and 3000 m (up to 2 °C). The characteristic time scale of the ocean response to the OGH corresponds to an advective time scale (associated with the overturning of the AABW cell) rather than a diffusive time scale. The OGH might facilitate the transition from a glacial to an inter-glacial state but its effect on the deep stratification seems insufficient to drive alone an abrupt climate change.

Linking variable Nordic Seas inflow to upstream circulation anomalies

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helene Asbjørnsen ◽  
Helen Johnson ◽  
Marius Årthun
Keyword(s):  
Ocean Circulation ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Volume Transport ◽  
Analysis Tool ◽  
Lagrangian Analysis ◽  
Nordic Seas ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Atlantic ◽  
Circulation Anomalies

<p>The inflow across the Iceland-Scotland Ridge determines the amount of heat supplied to the Nordic Seas from the subpolar North Atlantic (SPNA). Variability in inflow properties and volume transport at the ridge influence marine ecosystems and sea ice extent further north. The predictability of such downstream impacts depends on how variability at the ridge relate to large-scale ocean circulation changes in the North Atlantic. Here, we identify the upstream pathways of the Nordic Seas inflow, and assess the mechanisms responsible for interannual inflow variability. Using an eddy-resolving ocean model hindcast and a Lagrangian analysis tool, numerical particles are released at the ridge during 1986-2015 and tracked backward in time. Overall, 64% of the mean inflow volume transport has a subtropical origin and 26% has a subpolar or Arctic origin. The local instantaneous response to the NAO is important for the overall transport of both subtropical and Arctic-origin waters at the ridge. In the years before reaching the ridge, the subtropical particles are influenced by atmospheric circulation anomalies in the gyre boundary region and over the SPNA, forcing shifts in the North Atlantic Current (NAC) and the subpolar front. An equatorward shifted NAC and westward shifted subpolar front correspond to a warmer, more saline inflow. Wind stress curl anomalies over the SPNA also affect the amount of Arctic-origin water re-routed from the Labrador Current toward the Nordic Seas. A high transport of Arctic-origin water is associated with a colder, fresher inflow across the Iceland-Scotland Ridge. The results thus demonstrate the importance of gyre dynamics and wind forcing in affecting the Nordic Seas inflow properties and volume transport.</p>

scholarly journals A Climatology of Strong Large-Scale Ocean Evaporation Events. Part I: Identification, Global Distribution, and Associated Climate Conditions

2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (18) ◽  
pp. 7287-7312 ◽  
Author(s):  
Franziska Aemisegger ◽  
Lukas Papritz
Keyword(s):  
North Atlantic ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Past History ◽  
Spatiotemporal Variability ◽  
Western Boundary ◽  
Near Surface ◽  
Cold Air ◽  
The North ◽  
South Indian ◽  
The North Atlantic

This paper presents an object-based, global climatology (1979–2014) of strong large-scale ocean evaporation (SLOE) and its associated climatic properties. SLOE is diagnosed using an “atmospheric moisture uptake efficiency” criterion related to the ratio of surface evaporation and integrated water vapor content in the near-surface atmosphere. The chosen Eulerian identification procedure focuses on events that strongly contribute to the available near-surface atmospheric humidity. SLOE is particularly frequent along the warm ocean western boundary currents, downstream of large continental areas, and at the sea ice edge in polar regions with frequent cold-air outbreaks. Furthermore, wind-driven SLOE occurs in regions with topographically enforced winds. On a global annual average, SLOE occurs only 6% of the time but explains 22% of total ocean evaporation. An analysis of the past history and fate of air parcels involved in cold season SLOE in the North Atlantic and south Indian Oceans shows that cold-air advection is the main mechanism that induces these events. Extratropical cyclones thereby play an important role in setting the necessary equatorward synoptic flow. Consequently, the interannual variability of SLOE associated with the North Atlantic Oscillation and the southern annular mode reveals a very high sensitivity of SLOE with respect to the location of the storm tracks. This study highlights the strong link between transient synoptic events and the spatiotemporal variability in ocean evaporation patterns, which cannot be deduced from thermodynamic steady-state and climate mean state considerations alone.

scholarly journals Generation of Internal Waves by Eddies Impinging on the Western Boundary of the North Atlantic

2016 ◽  
Vol 46 (4) ◽  
pp. 1067-1079 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Clément ◽  
E. Frajka-Williams ◽  
K. L. Sheen ◽  
J. A. Brearley ◽  
A. C. Naveira Garabato
Keyword(s):  
Internal Waves ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
High Frequency ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler ◽  
Relative Vorticity ◽  
Western Boundary ◽  
The North ◽  
Current Profiler ◽  
The North Atlantic

AbstractDespite the major role played by mesoscale eddies in redistributing the energy of the large-scale circulation, our understanding of their dissipation is still incomplete. This study investigates the generation of internal waves by decaying eddies in the North Atlantic western boundary. The eddy presence and decay are measured from the altimetric surface relative vorticity associated with an array of full-depth current meters extending ~100 km offshore at 26.5°N. In addition, internal waves are analyzed over a topographic rise from 2-yr high-frequency measurements of an acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP), which is located 13 km offshore in 600-m deep water. Despite an apparent polarity independence of the eddy decay observed from altimetric data, the flow in the deepest 100 m is enhanced for anticyclones (25.2 cm s−1) compared with cyclones (−4.7 cm s−1). Accordingly, the internal wave field is sensitive to this polarity-dependent deep velocity. This is apparent from the eddy-modulated enhanced dissipation rate, which is obtained from a finescale parameterization and exceeds 10−9 W kg−1 for near-bottom flows greater than 8 cm s−1. The present study underlines the importance of oceanic western boundaries for removing the energy of low-mode westward-propagating eddies to higher-mode internal waves.

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