首页 | 本学科首页   官方微博 | 高级检索  
相似文献
 共查询到20条相似文献，搜索用时 46 毫秒
1.
The characteristics of the unstable normal modes of fluctuation of an eastward-flowing jet over a weak bottom slope are examined with a linear, quasi-geostrophic, continuously stratified, mixed-instability model utilizing basic-state fields determined from observations of the velocity and temperature structure of the Gulf Stream near 73d°W. Comparison of the model results with Gulf Stream path observations based on inverted echo sounder measurements in the area between 74°W and 70°W shows that the model can predict several of the observed features of Gulf Stream meanders: (a) two dispersion regimes, one with fast and one with slow changes in phase speed with meander wavelength; (b) the wavelengths λ associated with two growth maxima, a primary maximum at λ 270 km and a secondary maximum at λ 180 km.The energy conversion rates, when integrated over the model cross-sectional domain, change from predominantly baroclinic for fluctuations with λ < 370 km, to predominantly barotropic for λ > 370 km. The eddy pressure field is surface intensified in the upper 1000 m; a secondary intensification due to bottom topography occurs for the shorter wavelength (λ 180 km) fluctuations near the bottom at the area where the basic state jet extends to the bottom.In the absence of bottom slope, the phase speeds decrease and the growth rates increase relative to the sloped bottom case for all fluctuations with λ > 200 km; consistent with observations showing Gulf Stream meanders to slow down as they propagate through areas of relaxing bottom slope. Fluctuations with λ > 1000 km propagate upstream with phase speed of the order of −5 km day−1. The energy conversion rates, integrated over the model cross-sectional area, are predominantly baroclinic for all wavelengths.  相似文献   

2.
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   

3.
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   

4.
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   

5.
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   

6.
A model for the structure and motion of baroclinic solitary waves in the atmosphere or ocean is presented. Like gravity wave solitons, these planetary wave solutions are both weakly nonlinear and weakly dispersive. The dispersion effects, induced by β, are small because the scale of the wave is large compared to the deformation radius. The steepening effects are provided by the interaction of the wave with exterior mean shear flow, which may be either barotropic or baroclinic. The solutions have two properties which suggest that such theories may be useful in modelling solitary disturbances in the atmosphere or ocean: radial symmetry and fluid speeds which exceed the phase speed of the wave itself. As an example, we apply the model to Gulf Stream Rings.  相似文献   

7.
The effects of baroclinic instability of a broad ocean current, flowing in an ocean basin with a plane sloping bottom, on the path of the current are studied. The set of equations governing this path and its variation with depth are the vorticity equation and the heat equation. It is assumed that the vertical and horizontal temperature contrasts are comparable as suggested by observations of the Gulf Stream. When quasi-geostrophy is assumed in addition, this implies that the leading contribution to the heat equation does not contain the vertical advection of the basic stratification. This corresponds to the long-wave approximation of the usual baroclinic-instability problem. The heat equation determines the vertical variation of the path and when this is combined with the vorticity equation, the equation governing the path at one level is obtained. The path equation requires a specification of the direction and curvature at the inlet and these conditions are taken to be time-dependent. When these conditions contain frequencies for which the current is unstable, meanders in the path of the current increase in amplitude downstream of the inlet. When the path at the inlet changes suddenly from one parallel to the isobaths to one making a small angle with them, the region of instability in which the amplitude of the meanders increases, is confined to a restricted segment of the path, at soms distance from the inlet. This region becomes advected with the basic current, and its extent increases with time. The amplitude of the meanders in this region increases while their wavelength decreases in time because the shorter waves are unstabler. The increase in amplitude and decrease in wavelength in a restricted segment of the path could lead to eddy formation in a finite-amplitude model and may therefore suggest a mechanism for eddy formation in the Gulf Stream.  相似文献   

8.
Recent theories of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) suggest that its lateral and vertical stratification is controlled by its baroclinic instability: eddies in the ACC not only feed-off the available potential energy stored in sloping isopycnals but play a central role is setting up that stratification. Simple theory makes predictions about how the depth of the thermocline in the ACC depends on the surface winds, the air–sea buoyancy flux and transfer by baroclinic eddies. By examining gridded hydrographic data, here we test some of these predictions against observations. We show that, to a remarkable degree, the buoyancy field in the ACC decays exponentially with depth beneath the mixed layer. The e-folding depth increases equatorward, from less than 500 m on the poleward flank of the ACC to greater then 1000 m on its equatorial flank, in a manner that is broadly consistent with the theory.  相似文献   

9.
The lateral motion of the Gulf Stream off the eastern seaboard of the United States during the winter season can act to dramatically enhance the low-level baroclinicity within the coastal zone during periods of offshore cold advection. The ralative close proximity of the Gulf Stream current off the mid-Atlantic coast can result in the rapid and intense destabilization of the marine atmospheric boundary layer directly above and shoreward of the Gulf Stream within this region. This airmass modification period often precedes either wintertime coastal cyclogenesis or the cyclonic re-development of existing mid-latitude cyclones. A climatological study investigating the relationship between the severity of the pre-storm, cold advection period and subsequent cyclogenic intensification was undertaken by Cione et al. in 1993. Findings from this study illustrate that the thermal structure of the continental airmass as well as the position of the Gulf Stream front relative to land during the pre-storm period (i.e., 24–48 h prior to the initial cyclonic intensification) are linked to the observed rate of surface cyclonic deepening for storms that either advected into or initially developed within the Carolina-southeast Virginia offshore coastal zone. It is a major objective of this research to test the potential operational utility of this pre-storm low level baroclinic linkage to subsequent cyclogenesis in an actual National Weather Service (NWS) coastal winter storm forecast setting.The ability to produce coastal surface cyclone intensity forecasts recently became available to North Carolina State University researchers and NWS forecasters. This statistical forecast guidance utilizes regression relationships derived from a nine-season (January 1982–April 1990), 116-storm study conducted previously. During the period between February 1994 and February 1996, the Atlantic Surface Cyclone Intensification Index (ASCII) was successfully implemented in an operational setting by the NWS at the Raleigh-Durham (RAH) forecast office for 10 winter storms. Analysis of these ASCII forecasts will be presented.  相似文献   

10.
A theory is presented both for spectral energy transfer and for the transfer of spectral components of pseudo-potential enstrophy in a homogeneous quasi-geostrophic turbulent field which is rendered anisotropic by the distortion caused by a random collection of vortices superimposed on the principal motions. The fluid is, thus, subjected to an almost irrotational distortion. The random vortices cause straining effects on turbulent velocity and temperature fluctuations and modify the energy spectrum in the spectral ranges of interest. The strain imposed by the distortion is assumed to be homogeneous. For three-dimensional quasi-geostrophic turbulence that conserves pseudo-potential enstrophy as well as energy, this theory predicts –8/3 and –4 power inertial-range energy spectra.The predictions favourably corroborate the observed spectrum of energy in the atmosphere in the region of hemispheric wave-numbers 10–16 with a –8/3 slope and at higher wave-numbers with –4 slope on a log-log energy-wave-number diagram. The transfer rates of pseudo-potential enstrophy in the range 10n16 and of energy in the rangen>16 are identically zero, while the transfer of energy in the first range is from higher to lower wave-numbers and that of the pseudo-potential enstrophy in the second range is from lower to higher wave-numbers.As compared with the earlier two-dimensional turbulence theory of Kraichnan and the quasigeostrophic turbulence theory of Charney, the present theory predicts more realistic shapes of the energy spectra of atmospheric motions at scales shorter than the baroclinic excitation scales.  相似文献   

11.
The effect of barotropic shear in the basic flow on baroclinic instability is investigated using a linear multilevel quasi-geostrophic β-plane channel model and a nonlinear spherical primitive equation model. Barotropic shear has a profound effect on baroclinic instability. It reduces the growth rates of normal modes by severely restricting their structure, confirming earlier results with a two-layer model. Dissipation, in the form of Ekman pumping and Newtonian cooling, does not change the main characteristics of the effect of the shear on normal mode instability.Barotropic shear in the basic state, characterized by large shear vorticity with small horizontal curvature, also effects the nonlinear development of baroclinic waves. The shear limits the energy conversion from the zonal available potential energy to eddy energy, reducing the maximum eddy kinetic energy level reached by baroclinic waves. Barotropic shear, which controls the level of eddy activity, is a major factor which should be considered when parameterizing the eddy temperature and momentum fluxes induced by baroclinic waves in a climate model.  相似文献   

12.
This paper reexamines the theory of the meandering of the Gulf Stream and other inertial jets. We develop a hybrid model (with piecewise constant potential vorticity in the upper layer and a deep layer initially at rest) which allows us to clarify the relationships among thin jet, contour dynamics, and instability models. Approximating the hybrid model leads to a simple two-contour model which can be analyzed easily and can be integrated numerically for large amplitude disturbances. The jet evolution predicted by the approximate model is quite similar to the meander development under the full dynamics, except that the time scales are shorter. The model shows that baroclinic processes clearly play a significant role in the growth of meanders, while upper-layer interactions drive the final pinch-off of eddies. In addition to such process studies, the approximate model provides a simple dynamical system for further investigations.  相似文献   

13.
Tides affect transport and mixing in the Indonesian Seas, impacting the throughflow and the return flow of the global thermohaline circulation. In a previous study, barotropic and baroclinic tides were simulated for the Indonesian Seas at 5 km resolution in order to characterize the tides of the region and to identify and quantify locations of tidal mixing. Baroclinic tidal velocities exceeded barotropic velocities except in shallow regions and their variability was on smaller scales. Model results agreed reasonably with observations and are consistent with the resolution. However, only four mooring locations were available for comparison. The new International Nusantara Stratification (INSTANT) data set enables a more comprehensive comparison. With the exception of Lombok Strait, the model replicated the observed INSTANT velocity spectra, falling within the 90% confidence limits of the observed spectra, both in regions of high and low baroclinic tidal activity for the band of frequencies from 0.02 cph to 0.33 cph (periods of 50–3 h, respectively), which includes the major semidiurnal and diurnal tides and several of their first harmonics. The model overestimated the semidiurnal baroclinic tides in the narrow Lombok Strait, which is not well resolved in the model. Comparisons of vertical profiles of the major axes of the tidal ellipses at the mooring sites generally reproduced the vertical pattern, although there were exceptions, such as Lombok and Ombai Straits. Rms differences between the model estimates and hourly observations for the major axes of the tidal ellipses were typically 1–8 cm s−1 in regions of high tidal activity, 1–5 cm s−1 in regions of low tidal activity, and 1–20 cm s−1 for the semidiurnal tides in Lombok and Ombai Straits. Rms errors of 1–6 cm s−1 are typical in regions of moderate baroclinic tidal activity at this model resolution (5 km). Many of the larger rms differences result from vertical discrepancies in the depths of the internal tidal beams. The local nature of the internal tides generation and beam propagation results in large differences from small vertical shifts in the beams or generation due to topographic differences between the model topography and the actual topography. In addition, the moorings experienced severe blowdown. The blowdown adds uncertainty to the depths of the instruments and introduces errors in the observational tidal analysis in magnitude of the tidal constituents, both of which contribute to rms differences. Tidal mixing was found to occur in intense local regions with strong internal tidal shear. The local regions of mixing were typically along the bottom in steep slopes and over sills. In conclusion, the tidal model was found to reproduce the kinetic energy distribution and transfer of energy from tides to other frequencies in the Indonesian Seas and to roughly replicate the observed structure and magnitude of the tidal currents. Improvements in the tidal simulations in reproducing observations are expected with increased resolution.  相似文献   

14.
A global three-dimensional model of the tropospheric sulfur cycle   总被引：9，自引：0，他引：9  
The tropospheric part of the atmospheric sulfur cycle has been simulated in a global three-dimensional model. The model treats the emission, transport, chemistry, and removal processes for three sulfur components; DMS (dimethyl sulfide), SO2 and SO4 2– (sulfate). These processes are resolved using an Eulerian transport model, the MOGUNTIA model, with a horizontal resolution of 10° longitude by 10° latitude and with 10 layers in the vertical between the surface and 100 hPa. Advection takes place by climatological monthly mean winds. Transport processes occurring on smaller space and time scales are parameterized as eddy diffusion except for transport in deep convective clouds which is treated separately. The simulations are broadly consistent with observations of concentrations in air and precipitation in and over polluted regions in Europe and North America. Oxidation of DMS by OH radicals together with a global emission of 16 Tg DMS-S yr–1 from the oceans result in DMS concentrations consistent with observations in the marine boundary layer. The average turn-over times were estimated to be 3, 1.2–1.8, and 3.2–6.1 days for DMS, SO2, and SO4 2– respectively.  相似文献   

15.
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   

16.
 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   

17.
Temporally-growing frontal meandering and occasional eddy-shedding is observed in the Brazil Current (BC) as it flows adjacent to the Brazilian Coast. No study of the dynamics of this phenomenon has been conducted to date in the region between 22° S and 25°S. Within this latitude range, the flow over the intermediate continental slope is marked by a current inversion at a depth that is associated with the Intermediate Western Boundary Current (IWBC). A time series analysis of 10-current-meter mooring data was used to describe a mean vertical profile for the BC-IWBC jet and a typical meander vertical structure. The latter was obtained by an empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis that showed a single mode explaining 82% of the total variance. This mode structure decayed sharply with depth, revealing that the meandering is much more vigorous within the BC domain than it is in the IWBC region. As the spectral analysis of the mode amplitude time series revealed no significant periods, we searched for dominant wavelengths. This search was done via a spatial EOF analysis on 51 thermal front patterns derived from digitized AVHRR images. Four modes were statistically significant at the 95% confidence level. Modes 3 and 4, which together explained 18% of the total variance, are associated with 266 and 338-km vorticity waves, respectively. With this new information derived from the data, the [Johns, W.E., 1988. One-dimensional baroclinically unstable waves on the Gulf Stream potential vorticity gradient near Cape Hatteras. Dyn. Atmos. Oceans 11, 323–350] one-dimensional quasi-geostrophic model was applied to the interpolated mean BC-IWBC jet. The results indicated that the BC system is indeed baroclinically unstable and that the wavelengths depicted in the thermal front analysis are associated with the most unstable waves produced by the model. Growth rates were about 0.06 (0.05) days−1for the 266-km (338-km) wave. Moreover, phase speeds for these waves were low compared to the surface BC velocity and may account for remarks in the literature about growing standing or stationary meanders off southeast Brazil. The theoretical vertical structure modes associated with these waves resembled very closely to the one obtained for the current-meter mooring EOF analysis. We interpret this agreement as a confirmation that baroclinic instability is an important mechanism in meander growth in the BC system.  相似文献   

18.
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   

19.
Summary This paper investigates tropical-extratropical interactions over the northwestern Pacific Ocean that involve tropical cyclones and subtropical jet streaks. Another aspect of this study is to examine the relation between 6–25 day convective variability and tropical cyclones. This investigation is conducted for the fall and early winter season, with a focus on the months, October through December (OND). In addition to outgoing longwave radiation (OLR) data, we use 10 years (1985–1994) of WCRP/TOGA archive II analyses produced by ECMWF to compute equivalent temperature, e , precipitable water, W, and kinematic and kinetic energy transfer variables. These variables are composited for two classes of tropical cyclones, recurving cyclones (RCs) and non-recurving cyclones (NCRs), in order to examine the influence of tropical cyclones and baroclinic processes on changes in the jet streak intensity.We found that RCs interacted with extratropical regions during all composite days. A strong baroclinic zone developed throughout the troposphere on the north side of the composite cyclone as it propagated poleward. Between the day of recurvature, DR, and the day after recurvature, DR+1, the main band of convection shifted from the RC to a frontal band within the baroclinic zone indicating a transformation of the tropical cyclone into an extratropical one. An eastward propagating jet streak at 200 hPa, located north of the RC and in the vicinity of the baroclinic zone, increased its speed from 57 ms–1 to 79 ms–1 on DR+1. Although we could not measure the role of baroclinic processes in this regard, we were able to infer that upper-level outflow from the RC did supply momentum and energy to the jet streak.Whereas we expected tropical-extratropical interactions for the RCs, we also found evidence that NRCs that stay south of 20° N throughout their lifetime and that dissipate over Indo-China have an influence on the subtropical jet by their upper-level outflow, especially in the late OND season. The tropical (i.e., momentum) forcing did appear to cause increases in the speed of the jet after the composited storm crossed the Phillippines on the fourth day of its life cycle, D4. Concurrently, a baroclinic zone developed along the coast of southern China by about D4, but it was confined to the lower troposphere.Finally, our spectral analysis investigations for the northwestern Pacific showed significant peaks at 6–10 days and 15–20 days from late September to early December. The first peak is well known and is associated with typhoon activity. In several of the investigated autumn seasons (1987, 1989, 1992, and 1993), the second peak was clearly related to the recurrence interval of northwestern Pacific tropical cyclones. This result is in accordance with the findings of Hartmann et al. (1992). For some years of the investigation period (1985, 1986, and 1988), however, our results showed that westward propagating convective disturbances that fail to reach tropical depression strength also contribute to the power in the 15–25 day band, whereas in a few years (1990 and 1991), no OLR peak between 15 and 20 days could be found at all. Therefore, it appears that further work needs to be done with regard to the relationship between convective systems and their accompanying relationships on time scales ranging between 10 and 25 days.With 15 Figures  相似文献   

20.
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   

设为首页 | 免责声明 | 关于勤云 | 加入收藏

Copyright©北京勤云科技发展有限公司  京ICP备09084417号