On the use of a two-layer fluid stratification model in studies of topographically-generated baroclinic tides

Internal waves generated by a baroclinic internal wave impinging on an oceanic ridge are studied. Two stratification models are considered: a two-layer ocean model (with a density jump) and a continuously stratified ocean model (model pycnocline). The results yielded by different stratification models are compared analytically. The analysis makes possible the application of a piecewise-constant approximation of the fluid stratification to study topographically-generated baroclinic tides. Translated by V. Puchkin.     

全球海洋环流模式中上层海洋对表面强迫的响应和调整Ⅱ.年代际变率

利用一个较高分辨率的全球海洋环流模式在COADS 1945～1993年逐月平均资料的强迫下对海温和环流场进行了模拟,分析了北太平洋海温和环流场的年代际变化特征,同时诊断了1976-77年代际跃变过程中海温场变化的机制.模式模拟出了北太平洋海温年代际异常的主要模态以及1976-77年跃变前后的演变特征,模拟的北太平洋中部、加州沿岸和KOE区的海温异常的强度和演变趋势均和观测比较一致;同时,模式重现了分别始于20世纪70和80年代的中纬度海温异常信号沿等密度面向低纬地区的两次潜沉过程.在表层,流场的异常主要表现为与风应力异常基本符合Ekman关系的一个异常海洋涡旋,而整个上层海洋平均的流场异常则表现为两个海洋涡旋的异常,其中副热带海洋涡旋的异常的强度要显著于副极地海洋涡旋的异常,而副极地海洋涡旋异常出现的时间比副热带海洋涡旋晚3a左右的时间.对1976-77年前后3个区域上层海温各贡献项的诊断结果表明,北太平洋中部变冷主要是水平平流和热通量异常贡献的结果;而加州沿岸变暖主要归因于热通量的贡献;在KOE区,垂直平流、热通量和水平平流三者都起了重要作用,其中水平平流异常对这一区域海温年代际跃变出现的时间起了至关重要的作用.     

在大洋环流模型中对应于惯性内波破碎的垂直混合的一个参数化方案

Based on the theoretical spectral model of inertial internal wave breaking(fine structure) proposed previously, in which the effects of the horizontal Coriolis frequency component f-tilde on a potential isopycnal are taken into account, a parameterization scheme of vertical mixing in the stably stratified interior below the surface mixed layer in the ocean general circulation model(OGCM) is put forward preliminarily in this paper. Besides turbulence, the impact of sub-mesoscale oceanic processes(including inertial internal wave breaking product) on oceanic interior mixing is emphasized. We suggest that adding the inertial internal wave breaking mixing scheme(F-scheme for short) put forward in this paper to the turbulence mixing scheme of Canuto et al.( T-scheme for short) in the OGCM, except the region from 15°S to 15°N. The numerical results of F-scheme by using WOA09 data and an OGCM(LICOM, LASG/IAP climate system ocean model) over the global ocean are given. A notable improvement in the simulation of salinity and temperature over the global ocean is attained by using T-scheme adding F-scheme, especially in the mid- and high-latitude regions in the simulation of the intermediate water and deep water. We conjecture that the inertial internal wave breaking mixing and inertial forcing of wind might be one of important mechanisms maintaining the ventilation process. The modeling strength of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation(AMOC) by using T-scheme adding F-scheme may be more reasonable than that by using T-scheme alone, though the physical processes need to be further studied, and the overflow parameterization needs to be incorporated. A shortcoming in F-scheme is that in this paper the error of simulated salinity and temperature by using T-scheme adding F-scheme is larger than that by using T-scheme alone in the subsurface layer.     

Natural air–sea flux of CO2 in simulations of the NASA-GISS climate model: Sensitivity to the physical ocean model formulation

Results from twin control simulations of the preindustrial CO₂ gas exchange (natural flux of CO₂) between the ocean and the atmosphere are presented here using the NASA-GISS climate model, in which the same atmospheric component (modelE2) is coupled to two different ocean models, the Russell ocean model and HYCOM. Both incarnations of the GISS climate model are also coupled to the same ocean biogeochemistry module (NOBM) which estimates prognostic distributions for biotic and abiotic fields that influence the air–sea flux of CO₂. Model intercomparison is carried out at equilibrium conditions and model differences are contrasted with biases from present day climatologies. Although the models agree on the spatial patterns of the air–sea flux of CO₂, they disagree on the strength of the North Atlantic and Southern Ocean sinks mainly because of kinematic (winds) and chemistry (pCO₂) differences rather than thermodynamic (SST) ones. Biology/chemistry dissimilarities in the models stem from the different parameterizations of advective and diffusive processes, such as overturning, mixing and horizontal tracer advection and to a lesser degree from parameterizations of biogeochemical processes such as gravitational settling and sinking. The global meridional overturning circulation illustrates much of the different behavior of the biological pump in the two models, together with differences in mixed layer depth which are responsible for different SST, DIC and nutrient distributions in the two models and consequently different atmospheric feedbacks (in the wind, net heat and freshwater fluxes into the ocean).     

Numerical simulation of Pacific water intrusions into Otsuchi Bay,northeast of Japan,with a nested-grid OGCM

A numerical simulation of Otsuchi Bay located on the northeast coast of the Honshu, the largest island of Japan, is conducted, using an ocean general circulation model (OGCM) with a nested-grid system in order to illustrate seasonal variability of the circulation in the bay. Through a year, an anticlockwise circulation is dominant in the bay, as observational studies have implied, although it is modified in the bay-mouth-half of the bay in winter. In addition, there is an intense outflow at the surface layer during spring to autumn, influenced by river water discharge. Intrusion of the Pacific water into the bay is influened by mean circulations, but it is also influenced by baroclinic tides from spring to autumn. Pacific water intrusions affected by baroclinic tides may have an impact on the environment in Otsuchi Bay.     

On diapycnal mixing induced by internal tidal waves in the Arctic Ocean

In order to reproduce the diapycnal mixing induced by internal tidal waves (ITWs) in the Arctic Ocean, we use a modified version of the three-dimensional finite-element hydrothermodynamic model QUODDY-4. We found that the average (over the tidal cycle) and integral (by depth) baroclinic tidal energy dissipation rate in individual areas of the Siberian continental shelf and in the straits between the Canadian Arctic archipelago are much higher than in the open ocean and its values on ridges and troughs are qualitatively similar to one another. Moreover, in the area of open-ocean ridges, the baroclinic tidal energy dissipation rate increases as it approaches the bottom, but only in the bottom boundary layer; on the Mid-Atlantic and Hawaii ridges, such an increase is observed within a few hundreds of meters away from the bottom. The average (in area and depth of the open ocean) coefficient of diapycnal mixing defined by the baroclinic tidal energy dissipation rate is higher than the coefficient of molecular kinematic viscosity and only a few times lower than the canonical value of the coefficient of vertical turbulent viscosity, which is used in models of global oceanic circulation. Coupled with the reasoning on the localization of baroclinic tidal energy dissipation, this fact leads to the conclusion that disregarding the contribution that ITW-induced diapycnal mixing makes to the ocean-climate formation is hardly justified.     

大洋细结构混合参数化方法在世界大洋环流模式中的应用

在大洋环流模式中,铅直混合的参数化方法起着关键性的作用。将大洋细结构混合参数化方法首次应用于世界大洋环流模式中。使用中科院大气所(LASG)发展的20层世界大洋环流模式(OGCM)ML20,月平均风场作为强迫场,利用ML20模式在稳定初始状态下运行300a后的计算结果作为本实验进行数值模拟的初始场。该参数化方法对世界大洋环流模式的影响主要表现为：永久性温度跃层的厚度明显变薄;对深层水和底层水的模拟有改进;对南极中层水的模拟比较成功;但是对赤道海区的模拟结果欠佳。     

A spectral barotropic model of the wind-driven world ocean

A global spectral barotropic ocean model is introduced to describe the depth-averaged flow. The equations are based on vorticity and divergence (instead of horizontal momentum); continents exert a nearly infinite drag on the fluid. The coding follows that of spectral atmospheric general circulation models using triangular truncation and implicit time integration to provide a first step for seamless coupling to spectral atmospheric global circulation models and an efficient method for filtering of ocean wave dynamics. Five experiments demonstrate the model performance: (i) Bounded by an idealized basin geometry and driven by a zonally uniform wind stress, the ocean circulation shows close similarity with Munk’s analytical solution. (ii) With a real land–sea mask the model is capable of reproducing the spin-up, location and magnitudes of depth-averaged barotropic ocean currents. (iii) The ocean wave-dynamics of equatorial waves, excited by a height perturbation at the equator, shows wave dispersion and reflection at eastern and western coastal boundaries. (iv) The model reproduces propagation times of observed surface gravity waves in the Pacific with real bathymetry. (v) Advection of tracers can be simulated reasonably by the spectral method or a semi-Langrangian transport scheme. This spectral barotropic model may serve as a first step towards an intermediate complexity spectral atmosphere–ocean model for studying atmosphere–ocean interactions in idealized setups and long term climate variability beyond millennia.     

Decadal variability in an OGCM Southern Ocean: Intrinsic modes,forced modes and metastable states

An ocean general circulation model (OGCM) is used to identify a Southern Ocean southeast Pacific intrinsic mode of low frequency variability. Using CORE data a comprehensive suite of experiments were carried out to elucidate excitation and amplification responses of this intrinsic mode to low frequency forcing (ENSO, SAM) and stochastic forcing due to high frequency winds. Subsurface anomalies were found to teleconnect the Pacific and Atlantic regions of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) thermocline. The Pacific region of the ACC is characterised by intrinsic baroclinic disturbances that respond to both SAM and ENSO, while the Atlantic sector of the ACC is sensitive to higher frequency winds that act to amplify thermocline anomalies propagating downstream from the Pacific. Non-stationary cluster analysis was used to identify the system’s dynamical regimes and characterise meta-stability, persistence and transitions between the respective states. This analysis reveals significant trends, indicating fundamental changes to the meta-stability of the ocean dynamics in response to changes in atmospheric forcing. Intrinsic variability in sea-ice concentration was found to be coupled to thermocline processes. Sea-ice variability localised in the Atlantic was most closely associated with high frequency weather forcing. The SAM was associated with a circumpolar sea-ice response whereas ENSO was found to be a major driver of sea-ice variability only in the Pacific. This simulation study identifies plausible mechanisms that determine the predictability of the Southern Ocean climate on multi-decadal timescales.     

First and second baroclinic mode responses of the tropical Indian Ocean to interannual equatorial wind anomalies

The combined and individual responses of the first and second baroclinic mode dynamics of the tropical Indian Ocean to the well-known Indian Ocean Dipole mode (IOD) wind anomalies are investigated. The IOD forced first baroclinic Rossby waves arrive at the western boundary in three months, while the reflected component from the eastern boundary with opposite phase arrives in five to six months, both carry input energy to the west. The inclusion of the second baroclinic mode slows down the wave propagation by mode coupling and stretches the energy spectrum to a relatively longer time scale. The total energy exists in the equatorial wave guide for at least five months from the forcing, as much as 10% of that of the atmospheric input, which mainly dissipates at the western boundary. The individual responses of the ocean to IOD interannual wind anomaly show that the significant modes of oceanic anomalies are confined to a wave guide of 10° on either side of the equator.     

A spectral barotropic model of the wind-driven world ocean

A global spectral barotropic ocean model is introduced to describe the depth-averaged flow. The equations are based on vorticity and divergence (instead of horizontal momentum); continents exert a nearly infinite drag on the fluid. The coding follows that of spectral atmospheric general circulation models using triangular truncation and implicit time integration to provide a first step for seamless coupling to spectral atmospheric global circulation models and an efficient method for filtering of ocean wave dynamics. Five experiments demonstrate the model performance: (i) Bounded by an idealized basin geometry and driven by a zonally uniform wind stress, the ocean circulation shows close similarity with Munk’s analytical solution. (ii) With a real land–sea mask the model is capable of reproducing the spin-up, location and magnitudes of depth-averaged barotropic ocean currents. (iii) The ocean wave-dynamics of equatorial waves, excited by a height perturbation at the equator, shows wave dispersion and reflection at eastern and western coastal boundaries. (iv) The model reproduces propagation times of observed surface gravity waves in the Pacific with real bathymetry. (v) Advection of tracers can be simulated reasonably by the spectral method or a semi-Langrangian transport scheme. This spectral barotropic model may serve as a first step towards an intermediate complexity spectral atmosphere–ocean model for studying atmosphere–ocean interactions in idealized setups and long term climate variability beyond millennia.     

有限区域大气-海浪耦合模式的建立及海表粗糙度参数化试验

利用LINUX操作系统下的进程通讯(IPC)技术将中尺度大气模式MM5(V3)与第三代海浪模式WW3进行双向耦合,建立考虑大气-海浪相互作用的风浪耦合模式,在耦合模式中引入3种海表粗糙度参数化方案,通过对一次热带气旋过程的模拟,研究大气-海浪相互作用对热带气旋系统的影响及耦合模式对海表粗糙度参数化方案的敏感性。结果表明:LINUX系统下的进程通讯技术可以方便有效地实现大气和海浪模式的双向耦合,模式运行稳定;耦合模式能够较好的模拟热带气旋的发展和演变过程及其影响下海浪场的分布和演变,模拟结果对海表粗糙度参数化方案较敏感;海浪的反馈作用同时影响了海气间的动力和热力作用过程,不同的海表粗糙度参数化方案下,海浪对两种作用过程不同的影响程度决定了其对气旋系统强度的影响。     

莱州湾夏季环流垂向结构及其影响机制的研究

完善莱州湾三维环流结构,对进一步认识莱州湾海域的物质输运和生态环境保护具有重要科学意义,但前人对于莱州湾环流三维结构的研究相对较少。本文基于一套高分辨率的海洋数值模式,从三维角度研究了莱州湾夏季8月份环流的气候态特征及其影响机制。数值研究表明,莱州湾夏季环流垂向结构呈现双层环流特征,其中在跨等深线方向,环流的双层结构环流特征比较显著且存在显著的密度锋面结构。动量诊断的结果进一步表明,这种双层结构环流的形成与底层密度锋面所导致的斜压梯度力密切相关。此外,通过量化温盐场对于密度锋面的贡献,本文证实了温度梯度是莱州湾顶的密度锋面的主要影响因素,其对斜压梯度力的贡献占比达到99%,而盐度梯度对于莱州湾中部区域的密度锋面十分重要,对斜压梯度力的贡献占比达到58%,这与夏季黄河所带来的淡水通量密切相关。     

The regional oceanic modeling system (ROMS): a split-explicit, free-surface, topography-following-coordinate oceanic model

The purpose of this study is to find a combination of optimal numerical algorithms for time-stepping and mode-splitting suitable for a high-resolution, free-surface, terrain-following coordinate oceanic model. Due to mathematical feedback between the baroclinic momentum and tracer equations and, similarly, between the barotropic momentum and continuity equations, it is advantageous to treat both modes so that, after a time step for the momentum equation, the computed velocities participate immediately in the computation of tracers and continuity, and vice versa, rather than advancing all equations for one time step simultaneously. This leads to a new family of time-stepping algorithms that combine forward–backward feedback with the best known synchronous algorithms, allowing an increased time step due to the enhanced internal stability without sacrificing its accuracy. Based on these algorithms we design a split-explicit hydrodynamic kernel for a realistic oceanic model, which addresses multiple numerical issues associated with mode splitting. This kernel utilizes consistent temporal averaging of the barotropic mode via a specially designed filter function to guarantee both exact conservation and constancy preservation properties for tracers and yields more accurate (up to second-order), resolved barotropic processes, while preventing aliasing of unresolved barotropic signals into the slow baroclinic motions. It has a more accurate mode-splitting due to redefined barotropic pressure-gradient terms to account for the local variations in density field, while maintaining the computational efficiency of a split model. It is naturally compatible with a variety of centered and upstream-biased high-order advection algorithms, and helps to mitigate computational cost of expensive physical parameterization of mixing processes and submodels.     

Height variability from the MIROC – IPCC model for the 20th century compared to that of the TOPEX/POSEIDON altimeter

Planetary waves are key to large-scale dynamical adjustment in the global ocean as they transfer energy from the east to the west side of oceanic basins; they connect the forcing in the ocean interior with the variability at its boundaries; and they change the local heat content, thus coupling oceanic, atmospheric, and biological processes. Planetary waves, mostly of the first baroclinic mode, are observed as distinctive patterns in global time series of sea surface height anomaly (SSHA) and heat storage. The goal of this study is to compare and validate large-scale SSHA signals from coupled ocean-atmosphere general circulation Model for Interdisciplinary Research on Climate (MIROC) with TOPEX/POSEIDON satellite altimeter observations. The last decade of the models’ time series is selected for comparison with the altimeter data. The wave patterns are separated from the meso- and large-scale SSHA signals by digital filters calibrated to select the same spectral bands in both model and altimeter data. The band-wise comparison allows for an assessment of the model skill to simulate the dynamical components of the observed wave field. Comparisons regarding both the seasonal cycle and the Rossby wave field differ significantly among basins. When carried within the same basin, differences can occur between equal latitudes in opposite hemispheres. Furthermore, at some latitudes the MIROC reproduces biannual, annual and semiannual planetary waves with phase speeds and average amplitudes similar to those observed by the altimeter, but with significant differences in phase.     

Characteristics of coastal trapped waves along the southern and eastern coasts of Australia

The spatial structures and propagation characteristics of coastal trapped waves (CTWs) along the southern and eastern coasts of Australia are investigated using observed daily mean sea level data and results from a high-resolution ocean general circulation model (OGCM), and by conducting sensitivity studies with idealized numerical models. The results obtained from the sea level observations show that shortterm variations, with a typical period of 1 to 2 weeks, dominate the sea level variability in the southern half of Australia. The signal propagates anticlockwise around Australia with a propagation speed of 4.5 m/s or faster in the western and southern coasts and 2.1 to 3.6 m/s in the eastern coast. Strong seasonality of the wave activity, with large amplitude during austral winter, is also observed. It turns out that the waves are mainly generated by synoptic weather disturbances in the southwestern and southeastern regions. The numerical experiment with idealized wind forcing and realistic topography confirms that the propagating signals have characteristics of the CTW both in the southern and eastern coasts. Sensitivity experiments demonstrate that the difference in the phase speed between the coasts and reduction of the amplitude of the waves in the eastern coast are attributed to the different shape of the continental shelf in each region. The structures and the propagation characteristics of the CTWs around Australia are well reproduced in OFES (OGCM for the Earth Simulator) with dominant contribution from the first mode, although meso-scale eddies may modify the structure of the CTWs in the eastern coast. It is also found that generation or reinforcement of the waves by the wind forcing in the southern part of the eastern coast is necessary to obtain realistically large amplitude of the CTWs in the eastern coast.     

The different behaviour of modeled ocean circulation under an atmosphere with different heat capacity

We examine the difference in modeled thermohaline circulation under an atmosphere with no heat capacity (NHC) and infinite heat capacity (IHC) in a series of numerical experiments using the Bryan/Cox OGCM. An NHC atmosphere allows ocean sea surface temperatures to respond to changes in oceanic poleward heat transport, inferring an atmosphere that is allowed to seek its equilibrium temperature, whereas an IHC atmosphere does not. This is responsible for the following different behaviour patterns under the two atmospheres: 1) under NHC atmosphere, oceanic thermal oscillation persists, whereas under IHC atmosphere it does not; 2) under NHC atmosphere, the oceanic thermohaline circulation is less sensitive to high latitude freshening than under IHC atmosphere; 3) under either atmosphere, multiple equilibrium solutions are possible. However, under NHC atmosphere, two equilibria of the thermohaline circulation are generated in the same way as in the GFDL fully coupled model, while under IHC atmosphere, they are not.     

The role of nonhydrostatic dynamics in controlling development of a surface ocean front

Numerical studies of surface ocean fronts forced by inhomogeneous buoyancy loss show nonhydrostatic convective plumes coexisting with baroclinic eddies. The character of the vertical overturning depends sensitively on the treatment of the vertical momentum equation in the model. It is less well known how the frontal evolution over scales of O(10 km) is affected by these dynamics. Here, we compare highly resolved numerical experiments using nonhydrostatic and hydrostatic models and the convective-adjustment parametrization. The impact of nonhydrostatic processes on average cross-frontal transfer is weak compared to the effect of the O(1 km) scale baroclinic motions. For water-mass distribution and formation rate nonhydrostatic dynamics have similar influence to the baroclinic eddies although adequate resolution of the gradients in forcing fluxes is more important. The overall implication is that including nonhydrostatic surface frontal dynamics in ocean general circulation models will have only a minor effect on scales of O(1 km) and greater.     

Inversion of the three-dimensional temperature structure of mesoscale eddies in the Northwest Pacific based on deep learning

Mesoscale eddies, which are mainly caused by baroclinic effects in the ocean, are common oceanic phenomena in the Northwest Pacific Ocean and play very important roles in ocean circulation, ocean dynamics and material energy transport. The temperature structure of mesoscale eddies will lead to variations in oceanic baroclinity, which can be reflected in the sea level anomaly (SLA). Deep learning can automatically extract different features of data at multiple levels without human intervention, and find the hidden relations of data. Therefore, combining satellite SLA data with deep learning is a good way to invert the temperature structure inside eddies. This paper proposes a deep learning algorithm, eddy convolution neural network (ECN), which can train the relationship between mesoscale eddy temperature anomalies and sea level anomalies (SLAs), relying on the powerful feature extraction and learning abilities of convolutional neural networks. After obtaining the temperature structure model through ECN, according to climatic temperature data, the temperature structure of mesoscale eddies in the Northwest Pacific is retrieved with a spatial resolution of 0.25° at depths of 0–1 000 m. The overall accuracy of the ECN temperature structure is verified using Argo profiles at the locations of cyclonic and anticyclonic eddies during 2015–2016. Taking 10% error as the acceptable threshold of accuracy, 89.64% and 87.25% of the cyclonic and anticyclonic eddy temperature structures obtained by ECN met the threshold, respectively.     

Propagation of Rossby Waves over Ridges Excited by Interannual Wind Forcing in a Western North Pacific Model

Numerical experiments with a multi-level general circulation model have been performed to investigate basic processes of westward propagation of Rossby waves excited by interannual wind stress forcing in an idealized western North Pacific model with ocean ridges. When the wind forcing with an oscillation period of 3 years is imposed around 180°E and 30°N, far from Japan, barotropic waves excited by the wind can hardly cross the ridges, such as the Izu-Ogasawara Ridge. On the other hand, a large part of the first-mode baroclinic waves are transmitted across the ridges, having net mass transport. The propagation speed of the first-mode baroclinic wave is accelerated (decelerated) when an anticyclonic (cyclonic) circulation is formed at the sea surface, due to a deeper (shallower) upper layer, and to southward (slightly northward) drift of the circulation. Thus, when the anticyclonic circulation is formed on the northern side of the cyclonic one, they propagate almost together. The second-mode baroclinic waves converted from the first-mode ones on the ridges arrive south of Japan, although their effects are small. The resulting volume transport variation of the western boundary current (the Kuroshio) reaches about 60% of the Sverdrup transport variability estimated from the wind stress. These characteristics are common for the interannual forcing case with a longer oscillation period. In the intraseasonal and seasonal forcing cases, on the other hand, the transport variation is much smaller than those in the interannual forcing cases. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.