scholarly journals An Idealized Model Study of Eddy Energetics in the Western Boundary “Graveyard”

2021 ◽  
Vol 51 (4) ◽  
pp. 1265-1282
Author(s):  
Zhibin Yang ◽  
Xiaoming Zhai ◽  
David P. Marshall ◽  
Guihua Wang
Keyword(s):  
Energy Dissipation ◽  
Ocean Circulation ◽  
Circulation Model ◽  
Energy Dissipation Rate ◽  
Western Boundary ◽  
Frictional Drag ◽  
Ocean Eddies ◽  
Boundary Interaction ◽  
Model Study ◽  
Lee Wave

AbstractRecent studies show that the western boundary acts as a “graveyard” for westward-propagating ocean eddies. However, how the eddy energy incident on the western boundary is dissipated remains unclear. Here we investigate the energetics of eddy–western boundary interaction using an idealized MIT ocean circulation model with a spatially variable grid resolution. Four types of model experiments are conducted: 1) single eddy cases, 2) a sea of random eddies, 3) with a smooth topography, and 4) with a rough topography. We find significant dissipation of incident eddy energy at the western boundary, regardless of whether the model topography at the western boundary is smooth or rough. However, in the presence of rough topography, not only the eddy energy dissipation rate is enhanced, but more importantly, the leading process for removing eddy energy in the model switches from bottom frictional drag as in the case of smooth topography to viscous dissipation in the ocean interior above the rough topography. Further analysis shows that the enhanced eddy energy dissipation in the experiment with rough topography is associated with greater anticyclonic, ageostrophic instability (AAI), possibly as a result of lee wave generation and nonpropagating form drag effect.

The source-sink flow in a rotating system and its oceanic analogy

1971 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
pp. 441-464 ◽  
Author(s):  
Han-Hsiung Kuo ◽  
George Veronis
Keyword(s):  
Ocean Circulation ◽  
Bottom Topography ◽  
Circulation Model ◽  
Circulation Pattern ◽  
Theoretical Models ◽  
Outer Wall ◽  
Western Boundary ◽  
Shaped Container ◽  
Laboratory Analogue ◽  
Source Sink

Laboratory analogues of theoretical models of wind-driven ocean circulation are based on ideas presented by Stommel (1957). A particularly simple demonstration of the applicability of these ideas is contained in a paper by Stommel, Arons & Faller (1958). The present work develops the source-sink laboratory analogue of ocean circulation models to a point where chosen parametric values allow one to simulate the theoretical models of Stommel (1948) and Munk (1950) exactly. The investigation of the flow in a rotating cylinder generated by a source of fluid near the outer wall leads to a detailed description of the roles of the various boundary layers which occur. This knowledge is used to analyse the more complex source-sink flow in a pie-shaped basin. The laboratory analogue to the Stommel circulation model is analyzed in detail. It is shown that the change in the flow pattern brought about by a radial variation of the position of the eastern boundary in the pie-shaped basin is confined to the interior flow and the boundary layer is largely unaffected. When the bottom of the pie-shaped container slopes, the circulation pattern is changed significantly. For the particular case treated, the depth of the basin along the western boundary is unchanged and the maximum depth occurs at the southeast corner. The circulation generated by a source introduced at the apex of the pie has a gyre whose centre is shifted more toward the southwest corner than the corresponding centre of the gyre for a flat-bottomed basin. Two experiments are reported showing that the western boundary may separate because of the effect of bottom topography or because of the pressure of a cyclonic and an anti-cyclonic gyre generated by suitably placed sources and sinks.

Recent Changes in the Pacific Subtropical Cells Inferred from an Eddy-Resolving Ocean Circulation Model*

2007 ◽  
Vol 37 (5) ◽  
pp. 1340-1356 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei Cheng ◽  
Michael J. McPhaden ◽  
Dongxiao Zhang ◽  
E. Joseph Metzger
Keyword(s):  
Ocean Circulation ◽  
General Circulation ◽  
Control Volume ◽  
Circulation Model ◽  
Ocean General Circulation Model ◽  
Volume Transport ◽  
Western Boundary ◽  
Equatorial Undercurrent ◽  
Model Driven ◽  
The Pacific

Abstract In this study the subtropical cells (STC) in the Pacific Ocean are analyzed using an eddy-resolving ocean general circulation model driven by atmospheric forcing for the years 1992–2003. In particular, the authors seek to identify decadal changes in the STCs in the model and to compare them with observations in order to understand the consequences of such changes for the equatorial ocean heat and mass budgets. The simulation shows a trend toward increasing pycnocline volume transport at 9°N and 9°S across the basin from 1992 to 2003. This increase [4.9 ± 1.0 Sv (Sv ≡ 106 m3 s−1)] is in qualitative agreement with observations and is attributed primarily to changes in the interior ocean transport, which are partially compensated by opposing western boundary transports. The subtropical meridional volume transport convergence anomalies in the model pycnocline are found to be consistent with anomalous volume transports in both the observed and modeled Equatorial Undercurrent, as well as with the magnitude of simulated anomalous upwelling transport at the base of the mixed layer in the eastern Pacific. As a result of the increased circulation intensity, heat transport divergence through the lateral boundaries of the tropical control volume (defined as the region between 9°N and 9°S, and from the surface to σθ = 25.3 isopycnal) increases, leading to a cooling of the tropical upper ocean despite the fact that net surface heat flux into the control volume has increased in the same time. As such, these results suggest that wind-driven changes in ocean transports associated with the subtropical cells play a central role in regulating tropical Pacific climate variability on decadal time scales.

scholarly journals The Atlantic Subtropical Front/Current Systems of Azores and St. Helena

2007 ◽  
Vol 37 (11) ◽  
pp. 2573-2598 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manuela F. Juliano ◽  
Mário L. G. R. Alves
Keyword(s):  
Atlantic Ocean ◽  
Ocean Circulation ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
World Ocean ◽  
Circulation Model ◽  
Western Boundary ◽  
Mode Water ◽  
Subtropical Front ◽  
St Helena ◽  
Current Systems

Abstract A large-scale climatic ocean circulation model was used to study the Atlantic Ocean circulation. This inverse model is an extension of the β-spiral formulation presented in papers by Stommel and Schott with a more complete version of the vorticity equation, including relative vorticity in addition to planetary vorticity. Also, a more complete database for hydrological measurements in the Atlantic Ocean was used, including not only the National Oceanographic Data Center database but also World Ocean Circulation Experiment data and cruises near the Azores, Angola, and Guinea-Bissau. A detailed analysis of the Northern Hemisphere Azores Current and Front shows that this new database and the model results were able to capture all major features reported previously. In the Southern Hemisphere, the authors have identified fully and described the subtropical front that is the counterpart to the Azores Current, which they call the St. Helena Current and Front. Both current systems of both hemispheres have similar intensities, depth penetration, volume transports, and zonal flow. Both have associated subsurface adjacent countercurrent flows, and their main cores flow at similar latitudes (∼34°N for the Azores Current and 34°S for the St. Helena Current). It is argued that both current systems and associated fronts are the poleward 18°C Mode Water discontinuities of the two Atlantic subtropical gyres and that both originate at the corresponding hemisphere western boundary current systems from which they penetrate into the open ocean interior. Thus, both currents should have a similar forcing source, and their origin should not be linked to any geographical peculiarities.

scholarly journals Estimating Eddy Stresses by Fitting Dynamics to Observations Using a Residual-Mean Ocean Circulation Model and Its Adjoint

2005 ◽  
Vol 35 (10) ◽  
pp. 1891-1910 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Ferreira ◽  
John Marshall ◽  
Patrick Heimbach
Keyword(s):  
Ocean Circulation ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Circulation Model ◽  
Eddy Diffusivity ◽  
Ocean Model ◽  
Global Ocean ◽  
Western Boundary ◽  
Mean Flow ◽  
Ocean Circulation Model

Abstract A global ocean circulation model is formulated in terms of the “residual mean” and used to study eddy–mean flow interaction. Adjoint techniques are used to compute the three-dimensional eddy stress field that minimizes the departure of the coarse-resolution model from climatological observations of temperature. The resulting 3D maps of eddy stress and residual-mean circulation yield a wealth of information about the role of eddies in large-scale ocean circulation. In eddy-rich regions such as the Southern Ocean, the Kuroshio, and the Gulf Stream, eddy stresses have an amplitude comparable to the wind stress, of order 0.2 N m−2, and carry momentum from the surface down to the bottom, where they are balanced by mountain form drag. From the optimized eddy stress, 3D maps of horizontal eddy diffusivity κ are inferred. The diffusivities have a well-defined large-scale structure whose prominent features are 1) large values of κ (up to 4000 m2 s−1) in the western boundary currents and on the equatorial flank of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current and 2) a surface intensification of κ, suggestive of a dependence on the stratification N 2. It is shown that implementation of an eddy parameterization scheme in which the eddy diffusivity has an N 2 dependence significantly improves the climatology of the ocean model state relative to that obtained using a spatially uniform diffusivity.

scholarly journals Response of the Inertial Recirculation to Intensified Stratification in a Two-Layer Quasigeostrophic Ocean Circulation Model

2013 ◽  
Vol 43 (7) ◽  
pp. 1254-1269 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shantong Sun ◽  
Lixin Wu ◽  
Bo Qiu
Keyword(s):  
Surface Layer ◽  
Ocean Circulation ◽  
Circulation Model ◽  
Surface Flow ◽  
Western Boundary ◽  
Barotropic Instability ◽  
Boundary Current ◽  
Ocean Circulation Model ◽  
Model Studies ◽  
Budget Analysis

Abstract Previous observation and model studies show that the upper-ocean stratification is enhanced under global warming (Capotondi et al.; Cravatte et al.; Deser et al., etc.). The response of the recirculation, which is associated with the western boundary current (WBC) jet extension and significantly increases its transport, to the intensified stratification, is studied in a two-layer quasigeostrophic ocean circulation model. It is found that the barotropic transport of the circulation first increases with stratification but then decreases as a result of saturation of the surface-layer circulation intensity when the stratification exceeds a threshold. PV budget analysis indicates that the saturation is caused by the increased intergyre transport of relative potential vorticity resulting from the intensified variability of the jet location. Both the barotropic instability and bifurcation mechanisms contribute to the intensified variability of the jet location. Because of barotropic instability, eddies are generated in the confluence region of the WBCs and advected eastward, causing the variability of the jet location. With increased stratification, the surface-layer circulation is strengthened and the barotropic instability is intensified. As a result, the surface flow becomes more variable with excessive eddies and intense variability of the jet. With the increasing stratification, three regimes, each marked by its own variation of the jet location, emerge owing to the successive system bifurcations. In the last two regimes, variability of the jet location is further enhanced by frequent switches among the different dynamic states on multidecadal time scales.

scholarly journals On the Total, Mean, and Eddy Heat and Freshwater Transports in the Southern Hemisphere of a ⅛° × ⅛° Global Ocean Model

2007 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 277-295 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. J. Meijers ◽  
N. L. Bindoff ◽  
J. L. Roberts
Keyword(s):  
Southern Hemisphere ◽  
Ocean Circulation ◽  
General Circulation ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Circulation Model ◽  
Drake Passage ◽  
Ocean Model ◽  
Global Ocean ◽  
Western Boundary ◽  
Eddy Transport

Abstract The large-scale volume, heat, and freshwater ocean transports in the Southern Hemisphere are investigated using time-averaged output from a seasonless, high-resolution general circulation model. The ocean circulation is realistic, and property transports are comparable to observations. The Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) carries 144 Sv (Sv ≡ 106 m3 s−1) of water eastward across Drake Passage, increasing to 155 Sv south of Australia because of the Indonesian Throughflow (ITF). There is a clear Indo-Pacific gyre around Australia exchanging −10 Sv, 0.9 PW of heat, and 0.2 Sv of freshwater through the ITF, and there is a 9-Sv leakage from the Tasman Sea to the Indian Ocean. The transport of heat and freshwater by eddies is localized to the upper 1000 m of the water column and specific regions, such as western boundary currents, confluences, and the subantarctic front (SAF). Eddy transport of heat and freshwater is negligible in gyre interiors and south of the SAF but is vital across the northern edge of the ACC, in particular at the Agulhas Retroflection where eddies accomplish almost 100% of the net ocean heat and 60% of the southward freshwater transport. The eddy transport is almost zero across the latitude of Drake Passage while in a quasi-Lagrangian frame eddy transports are significant across the ACC but surprisingly are still smaller than the mean transport of heat. Mean and eddy property transport divergences are found to be strongly compensating in areas of high eddy activity. This is caused by increased baroclinic instability in strong mean flows, which induces an opposing eddy transport. This relationship is observed to be stronger in the case of horizontal heat transport than in corresponding horizontal freshwater transports.

On the impact of sea ice in a global ocean circulation model

1997 ◽  
Vol 25 ◽  
pp. 111-115 ◽  
Author(s):  
Achim Stössel
Keyword(s):  
Southern Ocean ◽  
Sea Ice ◽  
Ocean Circulation ◽  
General Circulation ◽  
Thermohaline Circulation ◽  
Circulation Model ◽  
Deep Ocean ◽  
Global Ocean ◽  
Convective Activity ◽  
The Impact

This paper investigates the long-term impact of sea ice on global climate using a global sea-ice–ocean general circulation model (OGCM). The sea-ice component involves state-of-the-art dynamics; the ocean component consists of a 3.5° × 3.5° × 11 layer primitive-equation model. Depending on the physical description of sea ice, significant changes are detected in the convective activity, in the hydrographic properties and in the thermohaline circulation of the ocean model. Most of these changes originate in the Southern Ocean, emphasizing the crucial role of sea ice in this marginally stably stratified region of the world's oceans. Specifically, if the effect of brine release is neglected, the deep layers of the Southern Ocean warm up considerably; this is associated with a weakening of the Southern Hemisphere overturning cell. The removal of the commonly used “salinity enhancement” leads to a similar effect. The deep-ocean salinity is almost unaffected in both experiments. Introducing explicit new-ice thickness growth in partially ice-covered gridcells leads to a substantial increase in convective activity, especially in the Southern Ocean, with a concomitant significant cooling and salinification of the deep ocean. Possible mechanisms for the resulting interactions between sea-ice processes and deep-ocean characteristics are suggested.

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