Influence of Midlatitude Winds on the Stratification of the Equatorial Thermocline*

2006 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 222-237 ◽  
Author(s):  
Masami Nonaka ◽  
Julian P. McCreary ◽  
Shang-Ping Xie
Keyword(s):  
Rossby Waves ◽  
Western Boundary ◽  
Thermocline Depth ◽  
Ekman Pumping ◽  
Baroclinic Mode ◽  
Layer Model ◽  
Mode Water ◽  
Equatorial Thermocline ◽  
Sponge Layer ◽  
Small Basin

Abstract The stratification of the equatorial thermocline is a key variable for tropical climate dynamics, through its influence on the temperature of the water that upwells in the eastern equatorial ocean. In this study, two types of ocean models are used, an ocean general circulation model (GCM) and a 1½-layer model, to investigate processes by which changes in the midlatitude winds affect the equatorial stratification. Specifically, the influences of anomalous mode-water formation, Ekman pumping, and entrainment in the subpolar ocean are examined. The effects of a “sponge layer” adjacent to the northern boundary of the basin are also assessed. Solutions are forced by idealized zonal winds with strong or weak midlatitude westerlies, and they are found in rectangular basins that extend from the equator to 36°N (small basin) or to 60°N (large basin). In the GCM solutions, a prominent response to reduced winds is the thinning of the mixed layer in the northwestern region of the subtropical gyre, leading to less subduction of low-potential-vorticity mode water and hence thinning of the upper thermocline in the central-to-eastern subtropics. Almost all of this thinning signal, however, recirculates within the subtropics, and does not extend to the equator. Another midlatitude response is shallowing (deepening) of the thermocline in the subtropical (subpolar) ocean in response to Ekman pumping. This, primarily, first-baroclinic-mode (n = 1) response has the most influence on the equatorial thermocline. First-baroclinic-mode Rossby waves propagate to the western boundary of the basin where they reflect as packets of coastal Kelvin and short-wavelength Rossby waves that carry the midlatitude signal to the equator. Subsequently, equatorial Kelvin waves spread it along the equator, leading to a shoaling and thinning of the equatorial thermocline. The layer-thickness field h in the 1½-layer model corresponds to thermocline depth in the GCM. Both the sponge layer and subpolar Ekman suction are important factors for the 1½-layer model solutions, requiring water upwelled in the interior ocean to be transported into the sponge layer via the western boundary layer. In the small basin, equatorial h thins in response to weakened westerlies when there is a sponge layer, but it thickens when there is not. In the large basin, equatorial h is unaffected by weakened westerlies when there is a sponge layer, but it thins when water is allowed to entrain into the layer in the subpolar gyre. It is concluded that the thinning of the equatorial thermocline in the GCM solutions is caused by the sponge layer in the small basin and by entrainment in the subpolar ocean in the large one.

scholarly journals Origin of the Annual to Decadal Peaks of Variability in the Response of Simple Ocean Models to Stochastic Forcing

2007 ◽  
Vol 37 (8) ◽  
pp. 2146-2157 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jérôme Sirven ◽  
Christophe Herbaut ◽  
Julie Deshayes ◽  
Claude Frankignoul
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Pattern ◽  
Analytical Model ◽  
Rossby Waves ◽  
Ocean Model ◽  
Western Boundary ◽  
Ekman Pumping ◽  
Stochastic Forcing ◽  
One Dimensional ◽  
Ocean Models ◽  
Strongly Damped

Abstract The response of the ocean to stochastic forcings is studied in a closed basin, using a simple one-dimensional analytical model. The focus is on the mechanisms that determine the time scales of the response and their possible links with free basin modes. The response may be described as a forced solution plus propagating solutions whose spatial pattern does not depend on the forcing. The propagating solutions are of two types. The first ones propagate eastward and are strongly damped so that their influence remains limited to the western boundary layer. The others are damped long Rossby waves that propagate westward and whose amplitude depends on the spatial extension and the frequency of the forcing. The amplitude increases if the frequency of the forcing is close to the frequency of the basin modes, but the spatial pattern differs from that of the latter; higher frequencies are favored if the zonal extension of the forcing is reduced. The response of a 1.5-layer reduced-gravity ocean model forced by stochastic Ekman pumping confirms the results of the analytical model.

scholarly journals Interdecadal Sea Surface Temperature Variability in the Equatorial Pacific Ocean. Part I: The Role of Off-Equatorial Wind Stresses and Oceanic Rossby Waves

2007 ◽  
Vol 20 (11) ◽  
pp. 2643-2658 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shayne McGregor ◽  
Neil J. Holbrook ◽  
Scott B. Power
Keyword(s):  
Pacific Ocean ◽  
Wind Stress ◽  
Rossby Waves ◽  
Wave Reflection ◽  
Equatorial Pacific ◽  
Sea Surface ◽  
Thermocline Depth ◽  
Equatorial Pacific Ocean ◽  
Equatorial Thermocline ◽  
The Western Pacific

Abstract The Australian Bureau of Meteorology Research Centre CGCM and a linear first baroclinic-mode ocean shallow-water model (SWM) are used to investigate ocean dynamic forcing mechanisms of the equatorial Pacific Ocean interdecadal sea surface temperature (SST) variability. An EOF analysis of the 13-yr low-pass Butterworth-filtered SST anomalies from a century-time-scale CGCM simulation reveals an SST anomaly spatial pattern and time variability consistent with the interdecadal Pacific oscillation. Results from an SWM simulation forced with wind stresses from the CGCM simulation are shown to compare well with the CGCM, and as such the SWM is then used to investigate the roles of “uncoupled” equatorial wind stress forcing, off-equatorial wind stress forcing (OffEqWF), and Rossby wave reflection at the western Pacific Ocean boundary, on the decadal equatorial thermocline depth anomalies. Equatorial Pacific wind stresses are shown to explain a large proportion of the overall variance in the equatorial thermocline depth anomalies. However, OffEqWF beyond 12.5° latitude produces an interdecadal signature in the Niño-4 (Niño-3) region that explains approximately 10% (1.5%) of the filtered control simulation variance. Rossby wave reflection at the western Pacific boundary is shown to underpin the OffEqWF contribution to these equatorial anomalies. The implications of this result for the predictability of the decadal variations of thermocline depth are investigated with results showing that OffEqWF generates an equatorial response in the Niño-3 region up to 3 yr after the wind stress forcing is switched off. Further, a statistically significant correlation is found between thermocline depth anomalies in the off-equatorial zone and the Niño-3 region, with the Niño-3 region lagging by approximately 2 yr. The authors conclude that there is potential predictability of the OffEqWF equatorial thermocline depth anomalies with lead times of up to 3 yr when taking into account the amplitudes and locations of off-equatorial region Rossby waves.

scholarly journals The Modulation of ENSO Variability in CCSM3 by Extratropical Rossby Waves

2009 ◽  
Vol 22 (22) ◽  
pp. 5839-5853 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shayne McGregor ◽  
Alex Sen Gupta ◽  
Neil J. Holbrook ◽  
Scott B. Power
Keyword(s):  
Pacific Ocean ◽  
Wind Stress ◽  
Rossby Wave ◽  
Rossby Waves ◽  
Southern Oscillation ◽  
Interdecadal Variability ◽  
Western Boundary ◽  
Thermocline Depth ◽  
Enso Variability ◽  
Enso Events

Abstract Evidence suggests that the magnitude and frequency of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) changes on interdecadal time scales. This is manifest in a distinct shift in ENSO behavior during the late 1970s. This study investigates mechanisms that may force this interdecadal variability and, in particular, on modulations driven by extratropical Rossby waves. Results from oceanic shallow-water models show that the Rossby wave theory can explain small near-zonal changes in equatorial thermocline depth that can alter the amplitude of simulated ENSO events. However, questions remain over whether the same mechanism operates in more complex coupled general circulation models (CGCMs) and what the magnitude of the resulting change would be. Experiments carried out in a state-of-the-art z-coordinate primitive equation model confirm that the Rossby wave mechanism does indeed operate. The effects of these interactions are further investigated using a partial coupling (PC) technique. This allows for the isolation of the role of wind stress–forced oceanic exchanges between the extratropics and the tropics and the subsequent modulation of ENSO variability. It is found that changes in the background state of the equatorial Pacific thermocline depth, induced by a fixed off-equatorial wind stress anomaly, can significantly affect the probability of ENSO events occurring. This confirms the results obtained from simpler models and further validates theories that rely on oceanic wave dynamics to generate Pacific Ocean interdecadal variability. This indicates that an improved predictive capability for seasonal-to-interannual ENSO variability could be achieved through a better understanding of extratropical-to-tropical Pacific Ocean transfers and western boundary processes. Furthermore, such an understanding would provide a physical basis to enhance multiyear probabilistic predictions of ENSO indices.

Why Are There Rossby Wave Maxima in the Pacific at 10°S and 13°N?

2003 ◽  
Vol 33 (8) ◽  
pp. 1549-1563 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonietta Capotondi ◽  
Michael A. Alexander ◽  
Clara Deser
Keyword(s):  
Rossby Wave ◽  
General Circulation ◽  
Rossby Waves ◽  
Circulation Model ◽  
Wave Model ◽  
Dominant Factor ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Thermocline Depth ◽  
Ekman Pumping ◽  
Low Frequencies

Abstract Observations indicate the existence of two bands of maximum thermocline depth variability centered at ∼10°S and 13°N in the tropical Pacific Ocean. The analysis of a numerical integration performed with the National Center for Atmospheric Research ocean general circulation model (OGCM) forced with observed fluxes of momentum, heat, and freshwater over the period from 1958 to 1997 reveals that the tropical centers of thermocline variability at 10°S and 13°N are associated with first-mode baroclinic Rossby waves forced by anomalous Ekman pumping. In this study the factors that may be responsible for the Rossby wave maxima at 10°S and 13°N, including the amplitude and spatial coherency of the forcing at those latitudes, are systematically investigated. A simple Rossby wave model is used to interpret the OGCM variability and to help to discriminate between the different factors that may produce the tropical maxima. These results indicate that the dominant factor in producing the maximum variability at 10°S and 13°N is the zonal coherency of the Ekman pumping, a characteristic of the forcing that becomes increasingly more pronounced at low frequencies, maximizing at timescales in the decadal range. Local maxima in the amplitude of the forcing, while not explaining the origin of the centers of variability at 10°S and 13°N, appear to affect the sharpness of the variability maxima at low frequencies. Although the Rossby wave model gives an excellent fit to the OGCM, some discrepancies exist: the amplitude of the thermocline variance is generally underestimated by the simple model, and the variability along 13°N is westward intensified in the wave model but reaches a maximum in the central part of the basin in the OGCM. Short Rossby waves excited by small-scale Ekman pumping features, or the presence of higher-order Rossby wave modes may be responsible for the differences in the zonal variance distribution along 13°N.

scholarly journals Subduction of South Pacific Tropical Water and Its Equatorward Pathways as Shown by a Simulated Passive Tracer*

2013 ◽  
Vol 43 (8) ◽  
pp. 1551-1565 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tangdong Qu ◽  
Shan Gao ◽  
Rana A. Fine
Keyword(s):  
South Pacific ◽  
Equatorial Region ◽  
Equatorial Pacific ◽  
Western Boundary ◽  
Passive Tracer ◽  
Tropical Water ◽  
South Pacific Ocean ◽  
Equal Importance ◽  
Equatorial Thermocline ◽  
South Pacific Tropical Water

Abstract This study investigates the subduction of South Pacific Tropical Water (SPTW) and its equatorward pathways using a simulated passive tracer of the consortium Estimating the Circulation & Climate of the Ocean (ECCO). The results show that approximately 5.8 Sv (1 Sv ≡ 106 m3 s−1) of the SPTW is formed in the subtropical South Pacific Ocean within the density range between 24.0 and 25.0 kg m−3, of which about 87% is due to vertical pumping and 13% is due to lateral induction, comparing reasonably well with estimates from climatological data. Once subducted, most SPTW spreads in the subtropical South Pacific. Because of the presence of mixing, some portion of the water is transformed, and its tracer-weighted density steadily increases from an initial value of 24.4 to nearly 25.0 kg m−3 after 13 years of integration. Approximately 42% of the water makes its way into the equatorial Pacific, either through the western boundary or interior pathway. The two equatorward pathways are essentially of equal importance. A large (~70%) portion of the SPTW entering the equatorial region resurfaces in the central equatorial Pacific. The potential impacts of the resurfacing SPTW on the equatorial thermocline and surface stratification are discussed.

Propagation and localization of Rossby waves over random topography (two-layer model)

Wave Motion ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 333-352 ◽  
Author(s):  
V.I. Klyatskin ◽  
N.V. Gryanik ◽  
D. Gurarie
Keyword(s):  
Rossby Waves ◽  
Layer Model ◽  
Two Layer Model

Topographic Rossby Waves in the Abyssal South China Sea

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
QI QUAN ◽  
ZHONGYA CAI ◽  
GUANGZHEN JIN ◽  
ZHIQIANG LIU
Keyword(s):  
South China Sea ◽  
Group Velocity ◽  
South China ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Rossby Waves ◽  
Western Boundary ◽  
Horizontal Shear ◽  
Boundary Current ◽  
China Sea ◽  
Topographic Rossby Waves

AbstractTopographic Rossby waves (TRWs) in the abyssal South China Sea (SCS) are investigated using observations and high-resolution numerical simulations. These energetic waves can account for over 40% of the kinetic energy (KE) variability in the deep western boundary current and seamount region in the central SCS. This proportion can even reach 70% over slopes in the northern and southern SCS. The TRW-induced currents exhibit columnar (i.e., in-phase) structure in which the speed increases downward. Wave properties such as the period (5–60 days), wavelength (100–500 km), and vertical trapping scale (102–103 m) vary significantly depending on environmental parameters of the SCS. The TRW energy propagates along steep topography with phase propagation offshore. TRWs with high frequencies exhibit a stronger climbing effect than low-frequency ones and hence can move further upslope. For TRWs with a certain frequency, the wavelength and trapping scale are dominated by the topographic beta, whereas the group velocity is more sensitive to the internal Rossby deformation radius. Background circulation with horizontal shear can change the wavelength and direction of TRWs if the flow velocity is comparable to the group velocity, particularly in the central, southern, and eastern SCS. A case study suggests two possible energy sources for TRWs: mesoscale perturbation in the upper layer and large-scale background circulation in the deep layer. The former provides KE by pressure work, whereas the latter transfers the available potential energy (APE) through baroclinic instability.

scholarly journals Controlling factors of the OMZ in the Arabian Sea

2012 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 5509-5550
Author(s):  
L. Resplandy ◽  
M. Lévy ◽  
L. Bopp ◽  
V. Echevin ◽  
S. Pous ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Distribution ◽  
Oxygen Concentration ◽  
Seasonal Cycle ◽  
Arabian Sea ◽  
Coastal Upwelling ◽  
Western Boundary ◽  
Ekman Pumping ◽  
Low Oxygen ◽  
Boundary Current ◽  
Ocean Dynamic

Abstract. In-situ observations indicate that the Arabian Sea oxygen minimum zone (OMZ) is only weakly influenced by the strong seasonal cycle of ocean dynamic and biogeochemistry forced by the asian monsoon system and it is spatially decorrelated from the coastal upwelling systems where the biological production is the strongest. In this study we examine the factors controlling the seasonality and the spatial distribution of the OMZ in the Arabian Sea using a coupled bio-physical model. We find that the oxygen concentration in the OMZ displays a seasonal cycle with an amplitude of 5–15 % of the annual mean oxygen concentration. The OMZ is ventilated by lateral ventilation along the western boundary current and in the coastal undercurrent along India during the summer monsoon and by coastal downwelling and negative Ekman pumping during the fall intermonsoon and winter monsoon. This ventilation is counterbalanced by strong coastal upwelling and positive Ekman pumping of low oxygen waters at the base of the OMZ during the spring intermonsoon. Although the factors controlling the OMZ seasonality are associated with the men circulation, we find that mesoscale dynamics modulates them by limiting the vertical ventilation during winter and enhancing it through lateral advection during the rest of the year. Processes explaining the establishment and spatial distribution of the OMZ were quantified using a perturbation experiment initialised with no OMZ. As expected, the oxygen depletion is triggered by strong biological activity in central Arabian Sea during winter and in western and eastern boundary coastal upwelling systems during summer. We find that the 3-D ocean dynamic largely controls the spatial distribution of the OMZ. The eastward shift ensues from the northward lateral transport of ventilated waters along the western and eastern coasts and the advection offshore of low oxygen waters formed in the upwelling system.

scholarly journals Combining Observations from Multiple Platforms across the Kuroshio Northeast of Luzon: A Highlight on PIES Data

2016 ◽  
Vol 33 (10) ◽  
pp. 2185-2203 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vigan Mensah ◽  
Magdalena Andres ◽  
Ren-Chieh Lien ◽  
Barry Ma ◽  
Craig M. Lee ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Time Series ◽  
Current Velocity ◽  
Mean Field ◽  
Volume Transport ◽  
Velocity Shear ◽  
Western Boundary ◽  
Thermocline Depth ◽  
Boundary Current ◽  
Processing Scheme ◽  
The Kuroshio

AbstractThis study presents amended procedures to process and map data collected by pressure-sensor-equipped inverted echo sounders (PIESs) in western boundary current regions. The modifications to the existing methodology, applied to observations of the Kuroshio from a PIES array deployed northeast of Luzon, Philippines, consist of substituting a hydrography-based mean travel time field for the PIES-based mean field and using two distinct gravest empirical mode (GEM) lookup tables across the front that separate water masses of South China Sea and North Pacific origin. In addition, this study presents a method to use time-mean velocities from acoustic Doppler current profilers (ADCPs) to reference (or “level”) the PIES-recorded pressures in order to obtain time series of absolute geostrophic velocity. Results derived from the PIES observations processed with the hydrography-based mean field and two GEMs are compared with hydrographic profiles sampled by Seagliders during the PIES observation period and with current velocity measured concurrently by a collocated ADCP array. The updated processing scheme leads to a 41% error decrease in the determination of the thermocline depth across the current, a 22% error decrease in baroclinic current velocity shear, and a 61% error decrease in baroclinic volume transports. The absolute volume transport time series derived from the leveled PIES array compares well with that obtained directly from the ADCPs with a root-mean-square difference of 3.0 Sv (1 Sv ≡ 106 m3 s–1), which is mainly attributed to the influence of ageostrophic processes on the ADCP-measured velocities that cannot be calculated from the PIES observations.

Simulating detailed spatial patterns of ice shelf basal melt

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erwin Lambert ◽  
André Jüling ◽  
Paul Holland ◽  
Roderik van de Wal
Keyword(s):  
Flow Direction ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Realistic Model ◽  
Western Boundary ◽  
Layer Model ◽  
Ice Shelf ◽  
Amundsen Sea ◽  
Ice Shelves ◽  
Grounding Line ◽  
Ocean Properties

<p>The contact between ice shelves and relatively warm ocean waters causes basal melt, ice shelf thinning, and ultimately ice sheet mass loss. This basal melt, and its dependence on ocean properties, is poorly understood due to an overall lack of direct observations and a difficulty in explicit simulation of the circulation in sub-shelf cavities. In this study, we compare a number of parameterisations and models of increasing complexity, up to a 2D ‘Layer’ model. Each model is aimed at quantifying basal melt rates as a function of offshore temperature and salinity. We test these models in an idealised setting (ISOMIP+) and in a realistic setting for the Amundsen Sea Embayment. All models show a comparable non-linear sensitivity of ice-shelf average basal melt to ocean warming, indicating a positive feedback between melt and circulation. However, the Layer model is the only one which explicitly resolves the flow direction of the buoyant melt plumes, which is primarily governed by rotation and by the basal topography of the ice shelves. At 500m resolution, this model simulates locally enhanced basal melt near the grounding line, in topographical channels, and near the western boundary. The simulated melt patterns for the Amundsen Sea ice shelves are compared to satellite observations of ice shelf thinning and to 3D numerical simulations of the sub-shelf cavity circulation. As detailed melt rates near the grounding line are essential for the stability of ice sheets, spatially realistic melt rates are crucial for future projections of ice sheet dynamics. We conclude that the Layer model can function as a relatively cheap yet realistic model to downscale 3D ocean simulations of ocean properties to sub-kilometer scale basal melt fields to provide detailed forcing fields to ice sheet models.</p>

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