scholarly journals The response of Mediterranean thermohaline circulation to climate change: a minimal model

2009 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 1731-1749 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Th. Meijer ◽  
H. A. Dijkstra
Keyword(s):  
Minimal Model ◽  
General Circulation ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Thermohaline Circulation ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Circulation Model ◽  
Ocean General Circulation Model ◽  
Ocean Model ◽  
Atmospheric Forcing ◽  
Overturning Circulation

Abstract. Physics-based understanding of the effects of paleoclimate and paleogeography on the thermohaline circulation of the Mediterranean Sea requires an ocean model capable of long integrations and involving a minimum of assumptions about the atmospheric forcing. Here we examine the sensitivity of the deep circulation in the eastern Mediterranean basin to changes in atmospheric forcing, considered a key factor in the deposition of organic-rich sediments (sapropels). To this extent we explore the setup of an ocean general circulation model (MOMA) with realistic (present-day) bathymetry and highly idealized forcing. The model proves able to qualitatively capture some important features of the large-scale overturning circulation, in particular for the eastern basin. The response to (i) a reduction in the imposed meridional temperature gradient, or (ii) a reduction in net evaporation, proves to be non-linear and, under certain conditions, of transient nature. Consistent with previous model studies, but now based on a minimum of assumptions, we find that a reduction in net evaporation (such as due to an increase in freshwater input) may halt the deep overturning circulation. The ability to perform long model integrations allows us to add the insight that, in order to have the conditions favourable for sapropel formation persist, we must also assume that the vertical mixing of water properties was reduced. The "minimal" model here presented opens the way to experiments in which one truly follows the basin circulation into, or out of, the period of sapropel formation and where forcing conditions are continuously adjusted to the precession cycle.

scholarly journals The response of Mediterranean thermohaline circulation to climate change: a minimal model

2009 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 713-720 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Th. Meijer ◽  
H. A. Dijkstra
Keyword(s):  
Minimal Model ◽  
General Circulation ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Thermohaline Circulation ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Circulation Model ◽  
Ocean General Circulation Model ◽  
Ocean Model ◽  
Atmospheric Forcing ◽  
Overturning Circulation

Abstract. Physics-based understanding of the effects of paleoclimate and paleogeography on the thermohaline circulation of the Mediterranean Sea requires an ocean model capable of long integrations and involving a minimum of assumptions about the atmospheric forcing. Here we examine the sensitivity of the deep circulation in the eastern Mediterranean basin to changes in atmospheric forcing, considered a key factor in the deposition of organic-rich sediments (sapropels). To this extent we explore the setup of an ocean general circulation model (MOMA) with realistic (present-day) bathymetry and highly idealized forcing. The model proves able to qualitatively capture some important features of the large-scale overturning circulation, in particular for the eastern basin. The response to (i) a reduction in the imposed meridional temperature gradient, or (ii) a reduction in net evaporation, proves to be non-linear and, under certain conditions, of transient nature. Consistent with previous model studies, but now based on a minimum of assumptions, we find that a reduction in net evaporation (such as due to an increase in freshwater input) may halt the deep overturning circulation. The ability to perform long model integrations allows us to add the insight that, in order to have the conditions favourable for sapropel formation persist, we must also assume that the vertical mixing of water properties was reduced. The "minimal" model here presented opens the way to experiments in which one truly follows the basin circulation into, or out of, the period of sapropel formation and where forcing conditions are continously adjusted to the precession cycle.

scholarly journals Can Lagrangian Tracking Simulate Tracer Spreading in a High-Resolution Ocean General Circulation Model?

2019 ◽  
Vol 49 (5) ◽  
pp. 1141-1157 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick Wagner ◽  
Siren Rühs ◽  
Franziska U. Schwarzkopf ◽  
Inga Monika Koszalka ◽  
Arne Biastoch
Keyword(s):  
General Circulation ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Circulation Model ◽  
Eddy Diffusivity ◽  
Ocean General Circulation Model ◽  
Horizontal Resolution ◽  
Ocean Model ◽  
Time Step ◽  
Lagrangian Particles ◽  
Cape Basin

AbstractTo model tracer spreading in the ocean, Lagrangian simulations in an offline framework are a practical and efficient alternative to solving the advective–diffusive tracer equations online. Differences in both approaches raise the question of whether both methods are comparable. Lagrangian simulations usually use model output averaged in time, and trajectories are not subject to parameterized subgrid diffusion, which is included in the advection–diffusion equations of ocean models. Previous studies focused on diffusivity estimates in idealized models but could show that both methods yield similar results as long as the deformations-scale dynamics are resolved and a sufficient amount of Lagrangian particles is used. This study compares spreading of an Eulerian tracer simulated online and a cloud of Lagrangian particles simulated offline with velocities from the same ocean model. We use a global, eddy-resolving ocean model featuring 1/20° horizontal resolution in the Agulhas region around South Africa. Tracer and particles were released at one time step in the Cape Basin and below the mixed layer and integrated for 3 years. Large-scale diagnostics, like mean pathways of floats and tracer, are almost identical and 1D horizontal distributions show no significant differences. Differences in vertical distributions, seen in a reduced vertical spreading and downward displacement of particles, are due to the combined effect of unresolved subdaily variability of the vertical velocities and the spatial variation of vertical diffusivity. This, in turn, has a small impact on the horizontal spreading behavior. The estimates of eddy diffusivity from particles and tracer yield comparable results of about 4000 m2 s−1 in the Cape Basin.

scholarly journals The GPU version of LASG/IAP Climate System Ocean Model version 3 (LICOM3) under the heterogeneous-compute interface for portability (HIP) framework and its large-scale application

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (5) ◽  
pp. 2781-2799
Author(s):  
Pengfei Wang ◽  
Jinrong Jiang ◽  
Pengfei Lin ◽  
Mengrong Ding ◽  
Junlin Wei ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
General Circulation ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Vertical Direction ◽  
Circulation Model ◽  
Ocean General Circulation Model ◽  
Ocean Model ◽  
Climate System ◽  
Global Ocean ◽  
Processing Unit ◽  
Model Version

Abstract. A high-resolution (1/20∘) global ocean general circulation model with graphics processing unit (GPU) code implementations is developed based on the LASG/IAP Climate System Ocean Model version 3 (LICOM3) under a heterogeneous-compute interface for portability (HIP) framework. The dynamic core and physics package of LICOM3 are both ported to the GPU, and three-dimensional parallelization (also partitioned in the vertical direction) is applied. The HIP version of LICOM3 (LICOM3-HIP) is 42 times faster than the same number of CPU cores when 384 AMD GPUs and CPU cores are used. LICOM3-HIP has excellent scalability; it can still obtain a speedup of more than 4 on 9216 GPUs compared to 384 GPUs. In this phase, we successfully performed a test of 1/20∘ LICOM3-HIP using 6550 nodes and 26 200 GPUs, and on a large scale, the model's speed was increased to approximately 2.72 simulated years per day (SYPD). By putting almost all the computation processes inside GPUs, the time cost of data transfer between CPUs and GPUs was reduced, resulting in high performance. Simultaneously, a 14-year spin-up integration following phase 2 of the Ocean Model Intercomparison Project (OMIP-2) protocol of surface forcing was performed, and preliminary results were evaluated. We found that the model results had little difference from the CPU version. Further comparison with observations and lower-resolution LICOM3 results suggests that the 1/20∘ LICOM3-HIP can reproduce the observations and produce many smaller-scale activities, such as submesoscale eddies and frontal-scale structures.

scholarly journals Formulation of a new explicit tidal scheme in ocean general circulation model

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiangbo Jin ◽  
Run Guo ◽  
Minghua Zhang ◽  
Guangqing Zhou ◽  
Qingcun Zeng
Keyword(s):  
Sea Level ◽  
General Circulation ◽  
Thermohaline Circulation ◽  
Circulation Model ◽  
Ocean General Circulation Model ◽  
Ocean Model ◽  
Tidal Mixing ◽  
Global Ocean ◽  
The North ◽  
Tidal Constituents

Abstract. Tides play an important role in ocean energy transfer and mixing, and provide major energy for maintaining thermohaline circulation. This study proposes a new explicit tidal scheme and assesses its performance in a global ocean model. Instead of using empirical specifications of tidal amplitudes and frequencies, the new scheme directly uses the positions of the Moon and Sun in a global ocean model to incorporate tides. Compared with the traditional method that has specified tidal constituents, the new scheme can better simulate the diurnal and spatial characteristics of the tidal potential of spring and neap tides as well as the spatial patterns and magnitudes of major tidal constituents (K1 and M2). It significantly reduces the total errors of eight tidal constituents (with the exception of N2 and Q1) in the traditional explicit tidal scheme. Relative to the control simulation without tides, both the new and traditional tidal schemes can lead to better dynamic sea level (DSL) simulation in the North Atlantic, reducing significant negative biases in this region. The new tidal scheme also shows smaller positive bias than the traditional scheme in the Southern Ocean. The new scheme is suited to calculate regional distributions of sea level height in addition to tidal mixing.

scholarly journals The GPU version of LICOM3 under HIP framework and its large-scale application

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pengfei Wang ◽  
Jinrong Jiang ◽  
Pengfei Lin ◽  
Mengrong Ding ◽  
Junlin Wei ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Graphics Processing Units ◽  
General Circulation ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Data Transfer ◽  
Circulation Model ◽  
Ocean General Circulation Model ◽  
Ocean Model ◽  
Global Ocean ◽  
Almost All

Abstract. A high-resolution (1/20°) global ocean general circulation model with Graphics processing units (GPUs) code implementations is developed based on the LASG/IAP Climate system Ocean Model version 3 (LICOM3) under Heterogeneous-compute Interface for Portability (HIP) framework. The dynamic core and physics package of LICOM3 are both ported to the GPU, and 3-dimensional parallelization is applied. The HIP version of the LICOM3 (LICOM3-HIP) is 42 times faster than what the same number of CPU cores dose, when 384 AMD GPUs and CPU cores are used. The LICOM3-HIP has excellent scalability; it can still obtain speedup of more than four on 9216 GPUs comparing to 384 GPUs. In this phase, we successfully performed a test of 1/20° LICOM3-HIP using 6550 nodes and 26200 GPUs, and at the grand scale, the model’s time to solution can still obtain an increasing, about 2.72 simulated years per day (SYPD). The high performance was due to putting almost all of computation processes inside GPUs, and thus greatly reduces the time cost of data transfer between CPUs and GPUs. At the same time, a 14-year spin-up integration following the phase 2 of Ocean Model Intercomparison Project (OMIP-2) protocol of surface forcing has been conducted, and the preliminary results have been evaluated. We found that the model results have little differences from the CPU version. Further comparison with observations and lower-resolution LICOM3 results suggests that the 1/20° LICOM3-HIP can not only reproduce the observations, but also produce much smaller scale activities, such as submesoscale eddies and frontal scales structures.

scholarly journals Imprint of chaotic ocean variability on transports in the Southwest Pacific at interannual timescales

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sophie Cravatte ◽  
Guillaume Serazin ◽  
Thierry Penduff ◽  
Christophe Menkes
Keyword(s):  
Interannual Variability ◽  
General Circulation ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Southern Oscillation ◽  
Initial Perturbation ◽  
Circulation Model ◽  
Ocean General Circulation Model ◽  
Atmospheric Forcing ◽  
Southwest Pacific ◽  
Ocean Variability

Abstract. The Southwest Pacific Ocean sits at a bifurcation where southern subtropical waters are redistributed equatorward and poleward by different ocean currents. The processes governing the interannual variability of these currents are not completely understood. This issue is investigated using a probabilistic modeling strategy that allows disentangling the atmospherically-forced deterministic ocean variability and the chaotic intrinsic ocean variability. A large ensemble of 50 simulations performed with the same ocean general circulation model (OGCM) driven by the same realistic atmospheric forcing that only differ by a small initial perturbation is analyzed over 1980–2015. Our results show that, in the Southwest Pacific, the interannual variability of the transports is strongly dominated by chaotic ocean variability south of 20° S. In the tropics, while the interannual variability of transports and eddy kinetic energy modulation is largely deterministic and explained by El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO), ocean nonlinear processes still explain 10 to 20 % of their interannual variance at large-scale. Regions of strong chaotic variance generally coincide with regions of high mesoscale activity, suggesting that a spontaneous inverse cascade is at work from mesoscale toward lower frequencies and larger scales. The spatiotemporal features of the low-frequency oceanic chaotic variability are complex but spatially coherent within certain regions. In the Subtropical Countercurrent area, they appear as interannually-varying, zonally elongated alternating current structures, while in the EAC region, they are eddy-shaped. Given this strong imprint of large-scale chaotic oceanic fluctuations, our results question the attribution of interannual variability to the atmospheric forcing in the region from point-wise observations and one-member simulations.

scholarly journals Imprint of chaotic ocean variability on transports in the southwestern Pacific at interannual timescales

Ocean Science ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 487-507
Author(s):  
Sophie Cravatte ◽  
Guillaume Serazin ◽  
Thierry Penduff ◽  
Christophe Menkes
Keyword(s):  
Interannual Variability ◽  
General Circulation ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Southern Oscillation ◽  
Initial Perturbation ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Circulation Model ◽  
Ocean General Circulation Model ◽  
Atmospheric Forcing ◽  
Ocean Variability

Abstract. The southwestern Pacific Ocean sits at a bifurcation where southern subtropical waters are redistributed equatorward and poleward by different ocean currents. The processes governing the interannual variability of these currents are not completely understood. This issue is investigated using a probabilistic modeling strategy that allows disentangling the atmospherically forced deterministic ocean variability and the chaotic intrinsic ocean variability. A large ensemble of 50 simulations performed with the same ocean general circulation model (OGCM) driven by the same realistic atmospheric forcing and only differing by a small initial perturbation is analyzed over 1980–2015. Our results show that, in the southwestern Pacific, the interannual variability of the transports is strongly dominated by chaotic ocean variability south of 20∘ S. In the tropics, while the interannual variability of transports and eddy kinetic energy modulation are largely deterministic and explained by the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO), ocean nonlinear processes still explain 10 % to 20 % of their interannual variance at large scale. Regions of strong chaotic variance generally coincide with regions of high mesoscale activity, suggesting that a spontaneous inverse cascade is at work from the mesoscale toward lower frequencies and larger scales. The spatiotemporal features of the low-frequency oceanic chaotic variability are complex but spatially coherent within certain regions. In the Subtropical Countercurrent area, they appear as interannually varying, zonally elongated alternating current structures, while in the EAC (East Australian Current) region, they are eddy-shaped. Given this strong imprint of large-scale chaotic oceanic fluctuations, our results question the attribution of interannual variability to the atmospheric forcing in the region from pointwise observations and one-member simulations.

scholarly journals Towards a regional ocean forecasting system for the IBI (Iberia-Biscay-Ireland area): developments and improvements within the ECOOP project framework

Ocean Science ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 143-159 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Cailleau ◽  
J. Chanut ◽  
J.-M. Lellouche ◽  
B. Levier ◽  
C. Maraldi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
General Circulation ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Vertical Mixing ◽  
Circulation Model ◽  
Storm Surges ◽  
Ocean General Circulation Model ◽  
Tidal Mixing ◽  
Basin Scale ◽  
Forecasting System ◽  
Ocean Forecasting

Abstract. The regional ocean operational system remains a key element in downscaling from large scale (global or basin scale) systems to coastal ones. It enables the transition between systems in which the resolution and the resolved physics are quite different. Indeed, coastal applications need a system to predict local high frequency events (inferior to the day) such as storm surges, while deep sea applications need a system to predict large scale lower frequency ocean features. In the framework of the ECOOP project, a regional system for the Iberia-Biscay-Ireland area has been upgraded from an existing V0 version to a V2. This paper focuses on the improvements from the V1 system, for which the physics are close to a large scale basin system, to the V2 for which the physics are more adapted to shelf and coastal issues. Strong developments such as higher regional physics resolution in the NEMO Ocean General Circulation Model for tides, non linear free surface and adapted vertical mixing schemes among others have been implemented in the V2 version. Thus, regional thermal fronts due to tidal mixing now appear in the latest version solution and are quite well positioned. Moreover, simulation of the stratification in shelf areas is also improved in the V2.

scholarly journals Wind forcing of salinity anomalies in the Denmark Strait overflow

Ocean Science ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 7 (6) ◽  
pp. 821-834 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Hall ◽  
S. R. Dye ◽  
K. J. Heywood ◽  
M. R. Wadley
Keyword(s):  
General Circulation ◽  
Thermohaline Circulation ◽  
Circulation Model ◽  
Ocean General Circulation Model ◽  
Mixing Processes ◽  
East Greenland ◽  
The North ◽  
East Greenland Current ◽  
Denmark Strait ◽  
Salinity Anomaly

Abstract. The overflow of dense water from the Nordic Seas to the North Atlantic through Denmark Strait is an important part of the global thermohaline circulation. The salinity of the overflow plume has been measured by an array of current meters across the continental slope off the coast of Angmagssalik, southeast Greenland since September 1998. During 2004 the salinity of the overflow plume changed dramatically; the entire width of the array (70 km) freshened between January 2004 and July 2004, with a significant negative salinity anomaly of about 0.06 in May. The event in May represents a fresh anomaly of over 3 standard deviations from the mean since recording began in 1998. The OCCAM 1/12° Ocean General Circulation Model not only reproduces the 2004 freshening event (r=0.96, p<0.01), but also correlates well with salinity observations over a previous 6 year period (r=0.54, p<0.01), despite the inevitable limitations of a z-coordinate model in representing the mixing processes at and downstream of the Denmark Strait sill. Consequently the physical processes causing the 2004 anomaly and prior variability in salinity are investigated using the model output. Our results reject the hypotheses that the anomaly is caused by processes occurring between the overflow sill and the moorings, or by an increase in upstream net freshwater input. Instead, we show that the 2004 salinity anomaly is caused by an increase in volume flux of low salinity water, with a potential density greater than 27.60 kg m−3, flowing towards the Denmark Strait sill in the East Greenland Current. This is caused by an increase in southward wind stress upstream of the sill at around 75° N 20° W four and a half months earlier, and an associated strengthening of the East Greenland Current.

The Freshening of Surface Waters in High Latitudes: Effects on the Thermohaline and Wind-Driven Circulations

2007 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 896-907 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexey Fedorov ◽  
Marcelo Barreiro ◽  
Giulio Boccaletti ◽  
Ronald Pacanowski ◽  
S. George Philander
Keyword(s):  
Surface Waters ◽  
General Circulation ◽  
Thermohaline Circulation ◽  
Circulation Model ◽  
Ocean General Circulation Model ◽  
Critical Parameters ◽  
High Latitudes ◽  
Oceanic Circulation ◽  
Meridional Overturning ◽  
The Tropics

Abstract The impacts of a freshening of surface waters in high latitudes on the deep, slow, thermohaline circulation have received enormous attention, especially the possibility of a shutdown in the meridional overturning that involves sinking of surface waters in the northern Atlantic Ocean. A recent study by Fedorov et al. has drawn attention to the effects of a freshening on the other main component of the oceanic circulation—the swift, shallow, wind-driven circulation that varies on decadal time scales and is closely associated with the ventilated thermocline. That circulation too involves meridional overturning, but its variations and critical transitions affect mainly the Tropics. A surface freshening in mid- to high latitudes can deepen the equatorial thermocline to such a degree that temperatures along the equator become as warm in the eastern part of the basin as they are in the west, the tropical zonal sea surface temperature gradient virtually disappears, and permanently warm conditions prevail in the Tropics. In a model that has both the wind-driven and thermohaline components of the circulation, which factors determine the relative effects of a freshening on the two components and its impact on climate? Studies with an idealized ocean general circulation model find that vertical diffusivity is one of the critical parameters that affect the relative strength of the two circulation components and hence their response to a freshening. The spatial structure of the freshening and imposed meridional temperature gradients are other important factors.

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