The Tyrrhenian Sea Circulation: A Review of Recent Work

Knowledge about marine circulation and its variability is a basic requirement for the correct management of activities aimed at exploiting marine resources and for the prevention and eventual mitigation of the risks involved. The activities of the Marine Hazard Project, to which this special number of Sustainability is dedicated, focus on geothermal resources connected with some submerged volcanic systems located in the Tyrrhenian Sea. This sea hosts delicate coastal and marine ecosystems, and is characterized by rich dynamics, both driven by the interaction of the local forcing with the complex morphology and bathymetry of the basin, and by exchanges with adjacent sub-basins which take place at all depths. The main purpose of the present review is to summarize the present understanding of the Tyrrhenian Sea circulation and its variability, with special emphasis on the results of experimental and modelling works of the last decade.

Weakening Satellite Era and Future Tropical Atlantic Sea Surface Temperature Variability

<p>Since 2000, a substantial weakening in the equatorial and southeastern tropical Atlantic sea surface temperature (SST) variability is observed. Observations and reanalysis products reveal, for example, that relative to 1982–1999, the March‐April‐May SST variability in the Angola‐Benguela area (ABA) has decreased by more than 30%. Both equatorial remote forcing and local forcing are known to play an important role in driving SST variability in the ABA. Here we show that compared to 1982–1999, since 2000, equatorial remote forcing had less influence on ABA SSTs, whereas local forcing has become more important. In particular, the robust correlation between the equatorial zonal wind stress and the ABA SSTs has substantially weakened, suggesting less influence of Kelvin waves on ABA SSTs. Moreover, the strong correlation linking the South Atlantic Anticyclone and the ABA SSTs has reduced. Multidecadal surface warming of the ABA could also have played a role in weakening the interannual SST variability.</p><p>To investigate future changes in tropical Atlantic SST variability, an ensemble of nested high-resolution coupled model simulations under the global warming scenario RCP8.5 is analyzed. SST variability in both the ABA and equatorial cold tongue is found to decrease along with reduced western equatorial Atlantic zonal wind variability.  </p>

Contrasting surface warming of a marginal basin due to large-scale climatic patterns and local forcing

The Mediterranean Sea is one of the first regions where sea surface temperature (SST) increase was linked to greenhouse effects and global warming. Due to its sensitivity to climate variability and its high impact on local and remote climate conditions, much effort has been made to assess the SST variability in the Mediterranean as a whole. However, the Mediterranean is composed of several basins, each of which plays a different role in its conveyor belt’s function. This study focuses on the basin of the Tyrrhenian Sea which represents one of the crucial areas for deep mixing of the Mediterranean main water masses. Thirty-seven years (1982–2018) of satellite-derived data were used to investigate the SST variability in relation to large-scale and local forcing mechanisms. A significant warming trend of 0.034 ± 0.004 °C/year was found, which led to an average warming of 1.288 ± 0.129 °C over the considered period. The observed warming presents time-dependent spatial patterns as well as changes in the seasonal cycle. Our results highlight that the Tyrrhenian’s individual long-term surface variability has different characteristics than the Mediterranean as a whole and provide insight into the relative influence of large-scale teleconnection patterns and local air-sea interaction on this variability.

Ground-Truth Model Evaluation of Subgrid Orographic Base-Flux Parameterization

High-resolution simulation can be a powerful means of evaluating and tuning orographic drag schemes, but connecting the parameterized drag, which is a local forcing, with the model drag, which is fundamentally global, is not entirely straightforward. The simplest idea is to filter the velocity down to its divergent component and exploit Bernoulli’s law to define a local form drag. Using regional simulations over the Rockies, the Andes, and Greenland, we investigate the validity of this approach, which assumes that both the included nonorographic divergence and the missing orographic deformation will not significantly alter the diagnostic. The local drag is checked for consistency with the nonlocal drag at scales containing most of the gravity wave drag and blocking drag. The agreement is found to be satisfactory unless the drag is weak and nonlinear. In that case, we find it necessary to remove a steady pattern from the nonlocal drag in order to uncover a correlation. We test a specific mountain drag scheme using the proposed diagnostic and describe procedures for tuning the scheme’s drag coefficients and treatment of anisotropy.

UPPER LAYER CIRCULATION IN THE BANDA SEA IN RESPONSE TO THE ONSET OF MONSOON WINDS

Aspects of the upper layer circulation in the interior of the Banda Sea, Indonesia, associated with local forcing by monsoon winds are examined numerically through the use of a reduced gravity model. The basin is located between approximately 4°S and 8°S and is partially enclosed by chains of islands. The primary emphasis is an evaluation of the free wave response which contributes to the steady or slowly varying circulation. Basin response appears to be characterized by interacting Kelvin waves and Rossby at low frequencies, and by evanescent Poincare waves of higher frequencies. Passages between islands along the perimeter of the basin appear to be nearly, impermeable to Rossby waves, which contribute to a pattern of westward propagating quasi geostrophic eddies. This pattern would persist during periods of wind transition.

Role of Equatorial Basin-Mode Resonance for the Seasonal Variability of the Angola Current at 11°S

Multiyear moored velocity observations of the Angola Current near 11°S reveal a weak southward mean flow superimposed by substantial intraseasonal to seasonal variability, including annual and semiannual cycles with distinct baroclinic structures. In the equatorial Atlantic these oscillations are associated with basin-mode resonances of the fourth and second baroclinic modes, respectively. Here, the role of basin-mode resonance and local forcing for the Angola Current seasonality is investigated. A suite of linear shallow-water models for the tropical Atlantic is employed, each model representing a single baroclinic mode forced at a specific period. The annually and semiannually oscillating forcing is given by 1) an idealized zonally uniform zonal forcing restricted to the equatorial band corresponding to a remote equatorial forcing or 2) realistic, spatially varying Fourier components of wind stress data that include local forcing off Angola, particularly alongshore winds. Model-computed modal amplitudes are scaled to match moored velocity observations from the equatorial Atlantic. The observed annual cycle of alongshore velocity at 11°S is well reproduced by the remote equatorial forcing. Including local forcing slightly improves the agreement between observed and simulated semiannual oscillations at 11°S compared to the purely equatorial forcing. However, the model-computed semiannual cycle lacks amplitude at middepth. This could be the result of either underestimating the strength of the second equatorial basin mode of the fourth baroclinic mode or other processes not accounted for in the shallow-water models. Overall, the findings underline the importance of large-scale linear equatorial wave dynamics for the seasonal variability of the boundary circulation off Angola.

Interannual Variability of Equatorial Eastern Indian Ocean Upwelling: Local versus Remote Forcing

The equatorial eastern Indian Ocean (EIO) upwelling occurs in the Indian Ocean warm pool, differing from the equatorial Pacific and Atlantic upwelling that occurs in the cold tongue. By analyzing observations and performing ocean model experiments, this paper quantifies the remote versus local forcing in causing interannual variability of the equatorial EIO upwelling from 2001 to 2011 and elucidates the associated processes. For all seasons, interannual variability of thermocline depth in the EIO, as an indicator of upwelling, is dominated by remote forcing from equatorial Indian Ocean winds, which drive Kelvin waves that propagate along the equator and subsequently along the Sumatra–Java coasts. Upwelling has prominent signatures in sea surface temperature (SST) and chlorophyll-a concentration but only in boreal summer–fall (May–October). Local forcing plays a larger role than remote forcing in producing interannual SST anomaly (SSTA). During boreal summer–fall, when the mean thermocline is relatively shallow, SSTA is primarily driven by the upwelling process, with comparable contributions from remote and local forcing effects. In contrast, during boreal winter–spring (November–April), when the mean thermocline is relatively deep, SSTA is controlled by surface heat flux and decoupled from thermocline variability. Advection affects interannual SSTA in all cases. The remote and local winds that drive the interannual variability of the equatorial EIO upwelling are closely associated with Indian Ocean dipole events and to a lesser degree with El Niño–Southern Oscillation.