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1.
A hydrodynamic model of the subtropical Atlantic basin and the Intra-Americas Sea (9–47°N) is used to investigate the dynamics of Gulf Stream separation from the western boundary at Cape Hatteras and its mean pathway to the Grand Banks. The model has five isopycnal Lagrangian layers in the vertical and allows realistic boundary geometry, bathymetry, wind forcing, and a meridional overturning circulation (MOC), the latter specified via ports in the northern and southern boundaries. The northward upper ocean branch of the MOC (14 Sv) was always included but the southward Deep Western Boundary Current (DWBC) was excluded in some simulations, allowing investigation of the impacts of the DWBC and the eddy-driven mean abyssal circulation on Gulf Stream separation from the western boundary. The result is resolution dependent with the DWBC playing a crucial role in Gulf Stream separation at 1/16° resolution but with the eddy-driven abyssal circulation alone sufficient to obtain accurate separation at 1/32° resolution and a realistic pathway from Cape Hatteras to the Grand Banks with minimal DWBC impact except southeast of the Grand Banks. The separation from the western boundary is particularly sensitive to the strength of the eddy-driven abyssal circulation. Farther to the east, between 68°W and the Grand Banks, all of the 1/16° and 1/32° simulations with realistic topography (with or without a DWBC) gave similar generally realistic mean pathways with clear impacts of the topographically constrained eddy-driven abyssal circulation versus very unrealistic Gulf Stream pathways between Cape Hatteras and the Grand Banks from otherwise identical simulations run with a flat bottom, in reduced-gravity mode, or with 1/8° resolution and realistic topography. The model is realistic enough to allow detailed model-data comparisons and a detailed investigation of Gulf Stream dynamics. The corresponding linear solution with a Sverdrup interior and Munk viscous western boundary layers, including one from the northward branch of the MOC, yielded two unrealistic Gulf Stream pathways, a broad eastward pathway centered at the latitude of Cape Hatteras and a second wind plus MOC-driven pathway hugging the western boundary to the north. Thus, a high resolution model capable of simulating an inertial jet is required to obtain a single nonlinear Gulf Stream pathway as it separates from the coast. None of the simulations were sufficiently inertial to overcome the linear solution need for a boundary current north of Cape Hatteras without assistance from pathway advection by the abyssal circulation, even though the core speeds of the simulated currents were consistent with observations near separation. In the 1/16° simulation with no DWBC and a 1/32° simulation with high bottom friction and no DWBC the model Gulf Stream overshot the observed separation latitude. With abyssal current assistance the simulated (and the observed) mean Gulf Stream pathway between separation from the western boundary and 70°W agreed closely with a constant absolute vorticity (CAV) trajectory influenced by the angle of the coastline prior to separation. The key abyssal current crosses under the Gulf Stream at 68.5–69°W and advects the Gulf Stream pathway southward to the terminus of an escarpment in the continental slope. There the abyssal current crosses to deeper depths to conserve potential vorticity while passing under the downward-sloping thermocline of the stream and then immediately retroflects eastward onto the abyssal plain, preventing further southward pathway advection. Thus specific topographic features and feedback from the impact of the Gulf Stream on the abyssal current pathway determined the latitude of the stream at 68.5–69°W, a latitude verified by observations. The associated abyssal current was also verified by observations. 相似文献
2.
We investigate the impact of 1/8°, 1/16°, 1/32°, and 1/64° ocean model resolution on model–data comparisons for the Gulf Stream system mainly between the Florida Straits and the Grand Banks. This includes mean flow and variability, the Gulf Stream pathway, the associated nonlinear recirculation gyres, the large-scale C-shape of the subtropical gyre and the abyssal circulation. A nonlinear isopycnal, free surface model covering the Atlantic from 9°N to 47°N or 51°N, including the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico, and a similar 1/16° global model are used. The models are forced by winds and by a global thermohaline component via ports in the model boundaries. When calculated using realistic wind forcing and Atlantic model boundaries, linear simulations with Munk western boundary layers and a Sverdrup interior show two unrealistic mean Gulf Stream pathways between Cape Hatteras and the Grand Banks, one proceeding due east from Cape Hatteras and a second one continuing northward along the western boundary until forced eastward by the regional northern boundary. The northern pathway is augmented when a linear version of the upper ocean global thermohaline contribution to the Gulf Stream is added as a Munk western boundary layer. A major change is required to obtain a realistic pathway in nonlinear models. Resolution of 1/8° is eddy-resolving but mainly gives a wiggly version of the linear model Gulf Stream pathway and weak abyssal flows except for the deep western boundary current (DWBC) forced by ports in the model boundaries. All of the higher resolution simulations show major improvement over the linear and 1/8° nonlinear simulations. Additional major improvement is seen with the increase from 1/16° to 1/32° resolution and modest improvement with a further increase to 1/64°. The improvements include (1) realistic separation of the Gulf Stream from the coast at Cape Hatteras and a realistic Gulf Stream pathway between Cape Hatteras and the Grand Banks based on comparisons with Gulf Stream pathways from satellite IR and from GEOSAT and TOPEX/Poseidon altimetry (but 1/32° resolution was required for robust results), (2) realistic eastern and western nonlinear recirculation gyres (which contribute to the large-scale C-shape of the subtropical gyre) based on comparisons with mean surface dynamic height from the generalized digital environmental model (GDEM) oceanic climatology and from the pattern and amplitude of sea surface height (SSH) variability surrounding the eastern gyre as seen in TOPEX/Poseidon altimetry, (3) realistic upper ocean and DWBC transports based on several types of measurements, (4) patterns and amplitude of SSH variability which are generally realistic compared to TOPEX/Poseidon altimetry, but which vary from simulation to simulation for specific features and which are most realistic overall in the 1/64° simulation, (5) a basin wide explosion in the number and strength of mesoscale eddies (with warm core rings (WCRs) north of the Gulf Stream, the regional eddy features best observed by satellite IR), (6) realistic statistics for WCRs north of the Gulf Stream based on comparison to IR analyses (low at 1/16° resolution and most realistic at 1/64° resolution for mean population and rings generated/year; realistic ring diameters at all resolutions), and (7) realistic patterns and amplitude of abyssal eddy kinetic energy (EKE) in comparison to historical measurements from current meters. 相似文献
3.
Tamara L. Townsend Harley E. Hurlburt Patrick J. Hogan 《Dynamics of Atmospheres and Oceans》2000,32(3-4)
In studies of large-scale ocean dynamics, often quoted values of Sverdrup transport are computed using the Hellerman–Rosenstein wind stress climatology. The Sverdrup solution varies, however, depending on the wind set used. We examine the differences in the large-scale upper ocean response to different surface momentum forcing fields for the North Atlantic Ocean by comparing the different Sverdrup interior/Munk western boundary layer solutions produced by a 1/16° linear numerical ocean model forced by 11 different wind stress climatologies. Significant differences in the results underscore the importance of careful selection of a wind set for Sverdrup transport calculation and for driving nonlinear models. This high-resolution modeling approach to solving the linear wind-driven ocean circulation problem is a convenient way to discern details of the Sverdrup flow and Munk western boundary layers in areas of complicated geometry such as the Caribbean and Bahamas. In addition, the linear solutions from a large number of wind sets provide a well-understood baseline oceanic response to wind stress forcing and thus, (1) insight into the dynamics of observed circulation features, by themselves and in conjunction with nonlinear models, and (2) insight into nonlinear model sensitivity to the choice of wind-forcing product.The wind stress products are evaluated and insight into the linear dynamics of specific ocean features is obtained by examining wind stress curl patterns in relation to the corresponding high-resolution linear solutions in conjunction with observational knowledge of the ocean circulation. In the Sverdrup/Munk solutions, the Gulf Stream pathway consists of two branches. One separates from the coast at the observed separation point, but penetrates due east in an unrealistic manner. The other, which overshoots the separation point at Cape Hatteras and continues to flow northward along the continental boundary, is required to balance the Sverdrup interior transport. A similar depiction of the Gulf Stream is commonly seen in the mean flow of nonlinear, eddy-resolving basin-scale models of the North Atlantic Ocean. An O(1) change from linear dynamics is required for realistic simulation of the Gulf Stream pathway. Nine of the eleven Sverdrup solutions have a C-shaped subtropical gyre, similar to what is seen in dynamic height contours derived from observations. Three mechanisms are identified that can contribute to this pattern in the Sverdrup transport contours. Along 27°N, several wind sets drive realistic total western boundary current transport (within 10% of observed) when a 14 Sv global thermohaline contribution is added (COADS, ECMWF 10 m re-analysis and operational, Hellerman–Rosenstein and National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) surface stress re-analysis), a few drive transport that is substantially too high (ECMWF 1000 mb re-analysis and operational and Isemer–Hasse) and Fleet Numerical Meteorology and Oceanography Center (FNMOC) surface stresses give linear transport that is slightly weaker than observed. However, higher order dynamics are required to explain the partitioning of this transport between the Florida Straits and just east of the Bahamas (minimal in the linear solutions vs. 5 Sv observed east of the Bahamas). Part of the Azores Current transport is explained by Sverdrup dynamics. So are the basic path of the North Atlantic Current (NAC) and the circulation features within the Intra-Americas Sea (IAS), when a linear rendition of the northward upper ocean return flow of the global thermohaline circulation is added in the form of a Munk western boundary layer. 相似文献
4.
The sigma coordinate, Princeton Ocean Model (POM) has been configured for the North Atlantic Ocean between 5°N and 50°N as part of data assimilation, model predictability and intercomparison studies. The model uses a curvilinear orthogonal grid with higher resolution in the western North Atlantic and lower resolution in the eastern North Atlantic. A series of experiments, each one of a 10-year duration, are performed to evaluate the sensitivity of the ocean mean state and variability to model parameters and model configuration; these experiments include open vs. closed boundary conditions, low vs. high resolution grids, and different choices of diffusion and viscosity. The results show that the use of closed boundaries together with near-boundary buffer zones where temperature and salinity are relaxed towards the observed values give less realistic flows, weaker recirculation gyres and less realistic Gulf Stream separation than do open boundary conditions. The experiments show that the sensitivity of the ocean variability in the model to the choice of the Smagorinsky diffusion and viscosity coefficients significantly differs from one region to another and largely depends on other attributes such as the mean position of the Gulf Stream in each simulation. A 50% change in model resolution in the Gulf Stream region has a larger effect on ocean variability than a change of diffusivity by a factor of 10. In areas where either the high or the low resolution models have sufficient resolution, as in the Gulf of Mexico, they are able to produce variability comparable to that observed from altimeter data; elsewhere, model variability is underestimated. 相似文献
5.
《Dynamics of Atmospheres and Oceans》2009,46(3-4):135-164
By analyzing the results of a realistic ocean general circulation model (OGCM) and conducting a series of idealized OGCM experiments, the dynamics of the Kuroshio Current System is examined. In the realistic configuration, the Kuroshio Current System is successfully simulated when the horizontal resolution of OGCMs is increased from 1/2° to 1/10°. The difference between the two experiments shows a jet, the model’s Kuroshio Extension, and a pair of cyclonic and anticyclonic, “relative,” recirculation gyres (RRGs) on the northern and southern flanks of the jet. We call them recirculation gyres because they share some features with ordinary recirculation gyres in previous studies, and we add the adjective “relative” to emphasize that they may not be apparent in the total field. Similar zonal jet and RRGs are obtained also in the idealized model with a rectangular basin and a flat bottom with a horizontal resolution of 1/6°. The northern RRG is generated by the injection of high potential vorticity (PV) created in the viscous sublayer of the western boundary current, indicating the importance of a no-slip boundary condition. Since there is no streamline with such high PV in the Sverdrup interior, the eastward current in the northern RRG region has to lose its PV anomaly by viscosity before connecting to the interior. In the setup stage this injection of high PV is carried out by many eddies generated from the instability of the western boundary current. This high PV generates the northern RRG, which induces the separation of the western boundary current and the formation of the zonal jet. In the equilibrium state, the anomalous high PV values created in the viscous sublayer are carried eastward in the northern flank of the zonal jet. The southern RRG is due to the classical Rhines–Young mechanism, where low PV values are advected northward within the western boundary inertial sublayer, and closed, PV-conserving streamlines form to the south of the Kuroshio Extension, allowing slow homogenization of the low PV anomalies. The westward-flowing southern branch of this southern RRG stabilizes the inertial western boundary current and prevents its separation in the northern half of the Sverdrup subtropical gyre, where the western boundary current is unstable without the stabilizing effect of the southern RRG. Therefore, in the equilibrium state, the southern RRG should be located just to the north of the center of the Sverdrup subtropical gyre, which is defined as the latitude of the Sverdrup streamfunction maximum. The zonal jet (the Kuroshio Extension) and the northern RRG gyre are formed to the north of the southern RRG. This is our central result. This hypothesis is confirmed by a series of sensitivity experiments where the location of the center of the Sverdrup subtropical gyre is changed without changing the boundaries of the subtropical gyre. The locations of the zonal jets in the observed Kuroshio Current System and Gulf Stream are consistent as well. Sensitivities of the model Kuroshio Current System are also discussed with regard to the horizontal viscosity, strength of the wind stress, and coastline. 相似文献
6.
By analyzing the results of a realistic ocean general circulation model (OGCM) and conducting a series of idealized OGCM experiments, the dynamics of the Kuroshio Current System is examined. In the realistic configuration, the Kuroshio Current System is successfully simulated when the horizontal resolution of OGCMs is increased from 1/2° to 1/10°. The difference between the two experiments shows a jet, the model’s Kuroshio Extension, and a pair of cyclonic and anticyclonic, “relative,” recirculation gyres (RRGs) on the northern and southern flanks of the jet. We call them recirculation gyres because they share some features with ordinary recirculation gyres in previous studies, and we add the adjective “relative” to emphasize that they may not be apparent in the total field. Similar zonal jet and RRGs are obtained also in the idealized model with a rectangular basin and a flat bottom with a horizontal resolution of 1/6°. The northern RRG is generated by the injection of high potential vorticity (PV) created in the viscous sublayer of the western boundary current, indicating the importance of a no-slip boundary condition. Since there is no streamline with such high PV in the Sverdrup interior, the eastward current in the northern RRG region has to lose its PV anomaly by viscosity before connecting to the interior. In the setup stage this injection of high PV is carried out by many eddies generated from the instability of the western boundary current. This high PV generates the northern RRG, which induces the separation of the western boundary current and the formation of the zonal jet. In the equilibrium state, the anomalous high PV values created in the viscous sublayer are carried eastward in the northern flank of the zonal jet. The southern RRG is due to the classical Rhines–Young mechanism, where low PV values are advected northward within the western boundary inertial sublayer, and closed, PV-conserving streamlines form to the south of the Kuroshio Extension, allowing slow homogenization of the low PV anomalies. The westward-flowing southern branch of this southern RRG stabilizes the inertial western boundary current and prevents its separation in the northern half of the Sverdrup subtropical gyre, where the western boundary current is unstable without the stabilizing effect of the southern RRG. Therefore, in the equilibrium state, the southern RRG should be located just to the north of the center of the Sverdrup subtropical gyre, which is defined as the latitude of the Sverdrup streamfunction maximum. The zonal jet (the Kuroshio Extension) and the northern RRG gyre are formed to the north of the southern RRG. This is our central result. This hypothesis is confirmed by a series of sensitivity experiments where the location of the center of the Sverdrup subtropical gyre is changed without changing the boundaries of the subtropical gyre. The locations of the zonal jets in the observed Kuroshio Current System and Gulf Stream are consistent as well. Sensitivities of the model Kuroshio Current System are also discussed with regard to the horizontal viscosity, strength of the wind stress, and coastline. 相似文献
7.
Recent studies show that mid-latitude SST variations over the Kuroshio-Oyashio Extension influence the atmospheric circulation. However, the impact of variations in SST in the Gulf Stream region on the atmosphere has been less studied. Understanding the atmospheric response to such variability can improve the climate predictability in the North Atlantic Sector. Here we use a relatively high resolution (～1°) Atmospheric General Circulation Model to investigate the mechanisms linking observed 5-year low-pass filtered SST variability in the Gulf Stream region and atmospheric variability, with focus on precipitation. Our results indicate that up to 70 % of local convective precipitation variability on these timescales can be explained by Gulf Stream SST variations. In this region, SST and convective precipitation are strongly correlated in both summer (r = 0.73) and winter (r = 0.55). A sensitivity experiment with a prescribed local warm SST anomaly in the Gulf Stream region confirms that local SST drives most of the precipitation variability over the Gulf Stream. Increased evaporation connected to the anomalous warm SST plays a crucial role in both seasons. In summer there is an enhanced local SLP minimum, a concentrated band of low level convergence, deep upward motion and enhanced precipitation. In winter we also get enhanced precipitation, but a direct connection to deep vertical upward motion is not found. Nearly all of the anomalous precipitation in winter is connected to passing atmospheric fronts. In summer the connection between precipitation and atmospheric fronts is weaker, but still important. 相似文献
8.
We investigate the dependence of surface fresh water fluxes in the Gulf Stream and North Atlantic Current (NAC) area on the
position of the stream axis which is not well represented in most ocean models. To correct this shortcoming, strong unrealistic
surface fresh water fluxes have to be applied that lead to an incorrect salt balance of the current system. The unrealistic
surface fluxes required by the oceanic component may force flux adjustments and may cause fictitious long-term variability
in coupled climate models. To identify the important points in the correct representation of the salt balance of the Gulf
Stream a regional model of the northwestern part of the subtropical gyre has been set up. Sensitivity studies are made where
the westward flow north of the Gulf Stream and its properties are varied. Increasing westward volume transport leads to a
southward migration of the Gulf Stream separation point along the American coast. The salinity of the inflow is essential
for realistic surface fresh water fluxes and the water mass distribution. The subpolar–subtropical connection is important
in two ways: The deep dense flow from the deep water mass formation areas sets up the cyclonic circulation cell north of the
Gulf Stream. The surface and mid depth flow of fresh water collected at high northern latitudes is mixed into the Gulf Stream
and compensates for the net evaporation at the surface.
Received: 19 September 2000 / Accepted: 5 February 2001 相似文献
9.
The impact of resolution on the adjustment and decadal variability of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation in a coupled climate model 总被引：2，自引：2，他引：0
Variations in the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (MOC) exert an important influence on climate, particularly on decadal time scales. Simulation of the MOC in coupled climate models is compromised, to a degree that is unknown, by their lack of fidelity in resolving some of the key processes involved. There is an overarching need to increase the resolution and fidelity of climate models, but also to assess how increases in resolution influence the simulation of key phenomena such as the MOC. In this study we investigate the impact of significantly increasing the (ocean and atmosphere) resolution of a coupled climate model on the simulation of MOC variability by comparing high and low resolution versions of the same model. In both versions, decadal variability of the MOC is closely linked to density anomalies that propagate from the Labrador Sea southward along the deep western boundary. We demonstrate that the MOC adjustment proceeds more rapidly in the higher resolution model due the increased speed of western boundary waves. However, the response of the Atlantic sea surface temperatures to MOC variations is relatively robust—in pattern if not in magnitude—across the two resolutions. The MOC also excites a coupled ocean-atmosphere response in the tropical Atlantic in both model versions. In the higher resolution model, but not the lower resolution model, there is evidence of a significant response in the extratropical atmosphere over the North Atlantic 6?years after a maximum in the MOC. In both models there is evidence of a weak negative feedback on deep density anomalies in the Labrador Sea, and hence on the MOC (with a time scale of approximately ten years). Our results highlight the need for further work to understand the decadal variability of the MOC and its simulation in climate models. 相似文献
10.
Abstract The Geosat radar altimeter data from ～60 repeat cycles of the Exact Repeat Mission (ERM) over the period November 1986 to September 1989 have been analysed to show the annual variations of the sea‐surface slopes, corrected for ocean tides, over the Scotian Shelf and the Grand Banks. A coastal tidal model developed at the Bedford Institute of Oceanography, combined with the global tidal model of Schwiderski, is employed to remove the tidal signals from the sea‐surface heights over those regions. Linear regression is used to estimate the sea‐surface slopes over the inner shelf region, the outer shelf region, or a combination of the two along the Geosat ground tracks. Harmonic analysis is applied to the time series of sea‐surface slopes to derive the annual signals, showing that amplitudes are of order of 5 × 10‐7 (5 cm/100 km) with onshore slopes positive in winter and negative in summer. The largest annual cycles occur over the outer portion of the Laurentian Channel and the southern Grand Banks. The annual cycles differ between the eastern and western portions of the Scotian Shelf: in the east, the signal is synchronized with that of the Laurentian Channel, whereas in the west, the phase of the signal is advanced by 2–3 months. The annual signals over the eastern Scotian Shelf are comparable and consistent with historical hydrographie data along the Halifax Hydrographie Section. The amplitude and phase over the western Scotian Shelf are consistent with the adjusted sea level at the Halifax Station. The annual variability of the sea‐surface slopes over the Scotian Shelf and the Grand Banks is thought to be induced by the seasonal outflow from the Gulf of St Lawrence through Cabot Strait, and possibly by an annual cycle in the Slope Water current. 相似文献
11.
Numerical simulations using a version of the GFDL/NOAA Modular Ocean Model(MOM 3) are analyzed to demonstrate interdecadal pathway changes from the subtropics to the tropics in the South Pacific Ocean.After the 1976-77 climate shift,the subtropical gyre of the South Pacific underwent significant changes,characterized by a slowing down in its circulation and a southward displacement of its center by about 5-10 latitude on the western side.The associated circulation altered its flow path in the northwestern part of the subtropical gyre,changing from a direct pathway connecting the subtropics to the tropics before the shift to a more zonal one after.This effectively prevented some subtropical waters from directly entering into the western equatorial Pacific.Since waters transported onto the equator around the subtropical gyre are saline and warm,such changes in the direct pathway and the associated reduction in equatorward exchange from the subtropics to the tropics affected water mass properties downstream in the western equatorial Pacific,causing persisted freshening and cooling of subsurface water as observed after the late 1970s.Previously,changes in gyre strength and advection of temperature anomalies have been invoked as mechanisms for linking the subtropics and tropics on interdecadal time scales.Here we present an additional hypothesis in which geographic shifts in the gyre structure and location(a pathway change) could play a similar role. 相似文献
12.
Abstract Sea surface temperature (SST) variability in the shelf‐slope region of the northwest Atlantic is described and then explained in terms of latent and sensible heat exchange with the atmosphere. The basic data are primarily engine‐intake temperature measurements made by merchant ships over the period 1946–80. The data have been grouped by month and area and an empirical orthogonal function analysis has been performed to determine the dominant modes of variation. The first two modes account for 44% of the total variance. The first mode corresponds to in‐phase changes of SST from the Grand Banks to Mid‐Atlantic Bight; the second mode corresponds to opposite changes of SST on the Grand Banks and Mid‐Atlantic Bight. The time‐dependent amplitudes of these large‐scale modes have pronounced low‐frequency components; the associated changes in SST are typically 3°C. It is also shown that winter anomalies last longer than summer anomalies; their typical decay scales are 6 and 3 months, respectively. The onshore component of geostrophic wind is significantly correlated with the amplitude of the first mode in winter. We note the strong land‐sea contrast of temperature and humidity in this region during winter and explain the wind‐SST correlation in terms of latent and sensible heat exchanges. The second mode (i.e. the difference in SST between the Grand Banks and Mid‐Atlantic Bight) also appears to be related to changes in atmospheric circulation during the winter. A stochastic model for mixed layer temperature is finally used to model the SST autocorrelation functions. Following Ruiz de Elvira and Lemke (1982), it includes a seasonally‐varying feedback coefficient. The model successfully reproduces the extended persistence of winter anomalies with physically realistic parameter values but it cannot account for the summer reinforcement of winter anomalies on the Scotian Shelf. We speculate that this is due to the occasional entrainment of water, cooled the previous winter, into the shallow summer mixed layer. 相似文献
13.
The present study developed Pacific Ocean models from the Research Institute for Applied Mechanics Ocean Model (RIAMOM) with very high horizontal (1/6° and 1/12°) and vertical (70 levels) resolutions. The hydrographic features of the simulations show good agreement with observed climatological features. Solution differences between the 1/6° and 1/12° models are small for general features of various physical components, but large for eddy fields and the strengths of western boundary currents and their extensions. However, the two high-resolution models show realistic climatological features of Pacific Ocean circulation patterns. Volume transports through major straits in the northwestern Pacific Ocean were also simulated and compared with previous observational results. 相似文献
14.
15.
We revisit early models of steady western boundary currents [Gulf Stream, Kuroshio, etc.] to explore the role of irregular coastlines on jets, both to advance the research frontier and to illuminate for education. In the framework of a steady-state, quasigeostrophic model with viscosity, bottom friction and nonlinearity, we prove that rotating a straight coastline, initially parallel to the meridians, significantly thickens the western boundary layer. We analyze an infinitely long, straight channel with arbitrary orientation and bottom friction using an exact solution and singular perturbation theory, and show that the model, though simpler than Stommel's, nevertheless captures both the western boundary jet (“Gulf Stream”) and the “orientation effect”. In the rest of the article, we restrict attention to the Stommel flow (that is, linear and inviscid except for bottom friction) and apply matched asymptotic expansions, radial basis function, Fourier–Chebyshev and Chebyshev–Chebyshev pseudospectral methods to explore the effects of coastal geometry in a variety of non-rectangular domains bounded by a circle, parabolas and squircles. Although our oceans are unabashedly idealized, the narrow spikes, broad jets and stationary points vividly illustrate the power and complexity of coastal control of western boundary layers. 相似文献
16.
Katrin M. Nissen Uwe Ulbrich Gregor C. Leckebusch Ivan Kuhnel 《Climate Dynamics》2014,43(5-6):1545-1555
The relationship between decadal variations in the North Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (MOC) and North Atlantic/Western European windstorm activity during the extended winter season is studied. According to an ensemble of three 240-year long simulations performed with the ECHAM5-MPIOM model, periods of high decadal windstorm activity frequently occur in the years following a phase of weak MOC (i.e. when the MOC starts to recover). These periods are characterised by a distinctive pattern in the mixed layer ocean heat content (OHC). A positive anomaly is located in the region 45°N?52°N/35°W?16°W (west of France). Negative anomalies are located to the North and South. The signal can be detected both in the heat content of the oceanic mixed layer and in the sea surface temperatures. Its structure is consistent with anomalously enhanced baroclinic instability in the region with the strong negative OHC gradient (30°W?10°W/45°N?60°N), which eventually produces a higher probability of windstorms. 相似文献
17.
A two-dimensional (2-D) mesoscale numerical model is applied to simulate the January 28 cold-air outbreak over the Gulf Stream region during the Intensive Observation Period-2 (IOP-2) of the 1986 Genesis of Atlantic Lows Experiment (GALE). The model utilizes a turbulence closure which involves the turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) and dissipation () equations and combines the level 2.5 formulations of Mellor and Yamada (1982) for better determination of the eddy Prandtl number.The modeled marine boundary layer (MBL) is in good agreement with the observations (Wayland and Raman, 1989) showing a low-level jet west of the Gulf Stream warm core and a constrained boundary layer due to the middle-level (2–4.5 km) stable layer. The MBL-induced single cloud and rain band first appears east of the Gulf Stream boundary, and then moves offshore at the speed of the circulation front. The front, however, moves slightly slower than the ambient flow. Removal of the tropopause does not influence the low-level circulation and the movement of the front. The speed of the front is slightly larger in the baroclinic downshear flow than in the barotropic flow. The results also indicate that the observed high cloud streets propagating downwind of the Gulf Stream may be related to upper-level baroclinic lee waves triggered by an elevated density mountain. The density mountain waves, however, become evanescent as the baroclinity (which gives a larger Scorer parameter) is removed.The modeled 2-D circulation systems are found to be sensitive to differing eddy Prandtl numbers, in contrast to the 1-D model results presented in Part I. Sensitivities become increasingly important as the clouds begin to interact with the MBL. A constant eddy Prandtl number of unity produces a more slantwise convection compared to that by the level 2.5 case. Cloud development is stronger in slantwise convection than in upright convection. The fastest development of clouds can be explained in terms of the conditional symmetric instability (CSI), which begins as the MBL baroclinity becomes sufficiently large. 相似文献
18.
Modelling the main features of the Algarve coastal circulation during July 2004: A downscaling approach 总被引：1，自引：0，他引：1
《Journal of Atmospheric & Ocean Science》2005,10(4):421-462
This article presents a methodology for simulating the Algarve coastal circulation using realistic forcing (e.g. low-frequency circulation, tide, high-resolution atmospheric forcing). Low-frequency open boundary conditions are defined via a downscaling of the HYCOM-US operational solution for the Gulf of Cadiz. Atmospheric forcing is imposed using the MM5 high-resolution mesoscale model (9 km resolution near the coast). A 3-level nesting system based on the MOHID numerical system is implemented. The higher nesting level has a horizontal resolution of 0.02° along the Algarve coast. The methodology is first validated qualitatively. A comparison between the numerical results and the conceptual model of the circulation described in the literature is presented. A quantitative validation is also performed, based mainly on remote sensing data (sea surface temperature and altimetry) available for July 2004. The numerical system is able to reproduce many of the circulation features described in the literature (e.g. Azores current recirculation in the Gulf of Cadiz, the upwelling jet, Mediterranean Water undercurrent, Mediterranean Outflow splitting, generation of meddies) and observed with remote-sensing data (e.g. the signature in sea surface temperature (SST) during a regime of upwelling relaxation). 相似文献
19.
《Dynamics of Atmospheres and Oceans》2009,46(3-4):102-134
A two-layer theory is used to investigate (1) the steering of upper ocean current pathways by topographically constrained abyssal currents that do not impinge on the bottom topography and (2) its application to upper ocean – topographic coupling via flow instabilities where topographically constrained eddy-driven deep mean flows in turn steer the mean pathways of upper ocean currents and associated fronts. In earlier studies the two-layer theory was applied to ocean models with low vertical resolution (2–6 layers). Here we investigate its relevance to complex ocean general circulation models (OGCMs) with high vertical resolution that are designed to simulate a wide range of ocean processes. The theory can be easily applied to models ranging from idealized to complex OGCMs, provided it is valid for the application. It can also be used in understanding some persistent features seen in observed ocean frontal pathways (over deep water) derived from satellite imagery and other data. To facilitate its application, a more thorough explanation of the theory is presented that emphasizes its range of validity. Three regions of the world ocean are used to investigate its application to eddy-resolving ocean models with high vertical resolution, including one where an assumption of the two-layer theory is violated. Results from the OGCMs with high vertical resolution are compared to those from models with low vertical resolution and to observations. In the Kuroshio region upper ocean – topographic coupling via flow instabilities and a modest seamount complex are used to explain the observed northward mean meander east of Japan where the Kuroshio separates from the coast. The Japan/East Sea (JES) is used to demonstrate the impact of upper ocean – topographic coupling in a relatively weak flow regime. East of South Island, New Zealand, the Southland Current is an observed western boundary current that flows in a direction counter to the demands of Sverdrup flow and counter to the direction simulated in nonlinear global flat bottom and reduced gravity models. A model with high vertical resolution (and topography extending through any number of layers) and a model with low vertical resolution (and vertically compressed but otherwise realistic topography confined to the lowest layer) both simulate a Southland Current in the observed direction with dynamics depending on the configuration of the regional seafloor. However, the dynamics of these simulations are very different because the Campbell Plateau and Chatham Rise east and southeast of New Zealand are rare features of the world ocean where the topography intrudes into the stratified water column over a relatively broad area but lies deeper than the nominal 200 m depth of the continental shelf break, violating a limitation of the two-layer theory. Observations confirm the results from the high vertical resolution model. Overall, the model simulations show increasingly widespread upper ocean – topographic coupling via flow instabilities as the horizontal resolution of the ocean models is increased, but fine resolution of mesoscale variability and the associated flow instabilities are required to obtain sufficient coupling. As a result, this type of coupling is critical in distinguishing between eddy-resolving and eddy-permitting ocean models in regions where it occurs. 相似文献
20.
Abstract An analysis is made of the errors in the wind field of the Fleet Numerical Océanographie Center (FNOC) over the northern Grand Banks. Observed wind data from an oil rig at the Bonanza site (47° 30'?, 48° 12 ‘ W) are comparedwith wind data obtainedfrom the grid prepared by FNOC. The resulting two time series are found to be strongly correlated at frequencies up to 0.5 cycles d?l (cpd). Most of the error in the FNOC wind field is observed at frequencies above 0.5 cpd. Discrepancies in direction between the two data sets occur most frequently at low wind speeds (less than 10ms?1). There is better agreement for wind direction in the winter than in the summer. Linear interpolation of the FNOC grid data yields the best regression with the observed wind. Wind observed at St John's shows no correlation with the observed wind on the northern Grand Banks. 相似文献