Techniques for asynchronous and periodically synchronous coupling of atmosphere and ocean models

A periodically synchronous scheme suitable for coupling atmosphere and ocean models with high internal variability is presented. The performance of the scheme is tested by means of a simple zero-dimensional non-linear energy balance model with stochastic forcing. The equilibrium behaviour and the response to changes in the model parameters are analysed. The response experiments are similar to CO₂ doubling and transient CO₂ experiments. The best results are obtained using a method with weighted means of the air-sea fluxes which are calculated during the synchronously coupled periods.     

Influence of coupling on atmosphere, sea ice and ocean regional models in the Ross Sea sector, Antarctica

Air–sea ice–ocean interactions in the Ross Sea sector form dense waters that feed the global thermohaline circulation. In this paper, we develop the new limited-area ocean–sea ice–atmosphere coupled model TANGO to simulate the Ross Sea sector. TANGO is built up by coupling the atmospheric limited-area model MAR to a regional configuration of the ocean–sea ice model NEMO. A method is then developed to identify the mechanisms by which local coupling affects the simulations. TANGO is shown to simulate realistic sea ice properties and atmospheric surface temperatures. These skills are mostly related to the skills of the stand alone atmospheric and oceanic models used to build TANGO. Nonetheless, air temperatures over ocean and winter sea ice thickness are found to be slightly improved in coupled simulations as compared to standard stand alone ones. Local atmosphere ocean feedbacks over the open ocean are found to significantly influence ocean temperature and salinity. In a stand alone ocean configuration, the dry and cold air produces an ocean cooling through sensible and latent heat loss. In a coupled configuration, the atmosphere is in turn moistened and warmed by the ocean; sensible and latent heat loss is therefore reduced as compared to the stand alone simulations. The atmosphere is found to be less sensitive to local feedbacks than the ocean. Effects of local feedbacks are increased in the coastal area because of the presence of sea ice. It is suggested that slow heat conduction within sea ice could amplify the feedbacks. These local feedbacks result in less sea ice production in polynyas in coupled mode, with a subsequent reduction in deep water formation.     

On the incompatibility of ocean and atmosphere models and the need for flux adjustments

The surface heat and freshwater fluxes from equilibrium ocean (OGCM) and atmospheric (AGCM) general circulation model climates are examined in order to determine the minimum flux adjustment required to prevent climate drift upon coupling. This is accomplished by integrating an OGCM with specified surface fluxes. It is shown that a dramatic climate drift of the coupled system is inevitable unless ocean meridional heat and freshwater (salt) transports are used as constraints for tuning the AGCM present-day climatology. It is further shown that the magnitude of the mismatch between OGCM and AGCM fluxes is not as important for climate drift as the difference in OGCM and implied AGCM meridional heat and freshwater (salt) transports. Hence a minimum flux adjustment is proposed, which is zonally-uniform in each basin and of small magnitude compared to present flux adjustments. This minimum flux adjustment acts only to correct the AGCM implied oceanic meridional transports of heat and freshwater (salt). A slight extension is also proposed to overcome the drift in the surface waters when the minimum flux adjustment is used. Finally, it is suggested that the flux adjustments which arise from current methods used to determine them are all very similar, leading to adjustment fields which are significantly larger than both AGCM and climatological fields over large regions.     

A mixed-flux equilibrium asynchronous coupling scheme for accelerating convergence in ocean-atmosphere models

A coupled atmosphere/mixed-layer ocean energy balance model of intermediate complexity is used to examine the feasibility of a technique to accelerate the model's convergence rate while using equilibrium asynchronous coupling (EAC). EAC consists of an iterative sequence of integrations of an atmospheric model driven to equilibrium with fixed SSTs, the output of which is used to drive an ocean model to equilibrium. In an attempt to accelerate a radiatively perturbed climate to its final equilibrium state, we superimpose on the EAC scheme a mixed-flux condition, in which a portion of the turbulent air-sea heat flux from the most recent atmospheric leg is used in the present oceanic integration. In sensitivity tests using enhanced insolation, this mixed-flux approach strongly hastens the model's convergence rate, whose acceleration is regionally dependent: the tropics show the strongest sensitivity to the mixed-flux condition, while polar regions are least affected. This geographic variation stems from the presence of polar sea-ice, which promotes a temperature inversion and thereby causes a seasonal change in the sign of the total turbulent air-sea heat flux. Potential applications and limitations of this accelerated EAC method are also discussed.     

Climatic teleconnections with the equatorial pacific and the role of ocean/atmosphere coupling

Starting from the occurrence of a zonal Walker circulation supplementing the meridional Hadley cell, the concept of ultralong waves with diagonal upper troughs extending far into the Tropics is stressed. The model of equatorial upwelling with air‐sea coupling is critically discussed and a modification proposed. An intensification of the subtropical jet at the peak of the 1972 El Niño (as suggested by Rowntree's model calculations) has been verified.

Empirical studies deal with the large interannual and interdecadal variations of the energy fluxes at the air‐sea interface; time variations of the oceanic evaporation and sensible heat flux are greater than expected. Using spectrum analysis, the occurrence of a 5‐year periodicity in equatorial rainfall of the Pacific and Indonesia is demonstrated, together with a marked phase shift along the NE coast of New Guinea.     

A Coupling Experiment of an Atmosphere and an Ocean Model with a Monthly Anomaly Exchange Scheme

A nine-layer spectral atmospheric general circulation model is coupled to a twenty-layer global oceanic general circulation model with the “prediction-correction” monthly anomaly exchange scheme which has been proposed at the Institute of Atmospheric Physics (IAP). A forty-year integration of the coupled model shows that the CGCM is fairly successful in keeping a reasonable pattern of the modelled SST although most of the Pacific become warmer than those given by the uncoupled ocean model. The model tends to reach a more realistic state than the uncoupled one in terms of downward surface heat flux into ocean particularly in the equatorial Pacific region. Also, the model is capable to simulate interannual variability of sea surface temperature in tropical region.     

南海中尺度大气海浪耦合模式及其对该区一次强台风过程的模拟研究

利用中尺度大气模式MM5(V3)和第3代海浪模式WWATCH建立考虑大气 海浪相互作用的风浪耦合模式。在耦合模式中引入考虑波浪影响的海表粗糙度参数化方案,大气模式分量提供海面10 m风场驱动海浪模式分量运行,并利用海浪模式分量反馈的波龄参数计算海表粗糙度。利用耦合模式模拟南海的一次台风过程,通过3组对比试验,检验耦合模式对台风过程的模拟效果并研究大气 海浪相互作用对台风过程的影响。结果表明：耦合模式能够较好地模拟南海的台风过程,与非耦合大气模式相比,其模拟的台风强度略有增强,路径变化不大;耦合模式对台风过程中海表热通量及降水影响显著,在台风充分发展过程中,耦合模式模拟的海表热通量增强,台风螺旋雨带上尤其是台风路径的右侧,耦合模式模拟的降水强于非耦合模式;耦合模式较好地模拟了台风过程海浪场的分布和演变,与非耦合模式相比,其模拟的海浪场增强,与实际更为接近;考虑了海表粗糙度对波浪的依赖关系后,海浪场同时影响海表的动力过程和热力过程,从本次个例看,在台风发展初期,海浪对海表动力作用影响显著,其反馈作用使台风系统减弱,但在台风充分发展后,耦合系统中海表热通量增加,热力作用显著增强,海浪的反馈作用有利于台风系统的发展和维持。     

A coupled atmosphere‐ocean model for transient climate change studies

Abstract

A new coupled atmosphere‐ocean model has been developed for climate predictions at decade to century scales. The atmospheric model is similar to that of Hansen et al. (1983) except that the atmospheric dynamic equations for mass and momentum are solved using Arakawa and Lamb's (1977) C grid scheme and the advection of potential enthalpy and water vapour uses the linear upstream scheme (Russell and Lerner, 1981). The new global ocean model conserves mass, allows for divergent flow, has a free surface and uses the linear upstream scheme for the advection of potential enthalpy and salt. Both models run at 4° × 5° resolution, with 9 vertical layers for the atmosphere and 13 layers for the ocean. Twelve straits are included, allowing for subgrid‐scale water flow. Runoff from land is routed into appropriate ocean basins. Atmospheric and oceanic surface fluxes are of opposite sign and are applied synchronously. Flux adjustments are not used. Except for partial strength alternating binomial filters (Shapiro, 1970), which are applied to the momentum components in the atmosphere and oceans, there is no explicit horizontal diffusion.

A 120‐year simulation of the coupled model starting from the oceanic initial conditions of Levitus (1982) is discussed. The model dynamics stabilize after several decades. The maximum northward ocean heat flux is 1.4 × 10¹⁵ W at 16°N. The model appears to maintain the vertical gradients characterizing the separation between the upper and deep ocean spheres. Inadequacies in the coupled model simulation lead to decreasing temperature and salinity in the high latitude North Atlantic and to a poor simulation of the northern North Atlantic thermohaline circulation. The mass transport of the Gulf Stream is about half of observed values, while the transports of the Kuroshio and Antarctic Circumpolar Currents are similar to observations. Additional deficiencies include a climate drift in the surface air temperature of 0.006°C year^‐1 due to a radiation imbalance of 7.4 Wm^‐2 at the top of the atmosphere and too warm temperatures in the eastern portions of tropical oceans. The coupled model should be useful for delineating modelling capabilities without the use of flux adjustments and should serve as a benchmark for future model improvements.     

Quantifying atmosphere and ocean origins of North American precipitation variability

How atmospheric and oceanic processes control North American precipitation variability has been extensively investigated, and yet debates remain. Here we address this question in a 50 km-resolution flux-adjusted global climate model. The high spatial resolution and flux adjustment greatly improve the model’s ability to realistically simulate North American precipitation, the relevant tropical and midlatitude variability and their teleconnections. Comparing two millennium-long simulations with and without an interactive ocean, we find that the leading modes of North American precipitation variability on seasonal and longer timescales exhibit nearly identical spatial and spectral characteristics, explained fraction of total variance and associated atmospheric circulation. This finding suggests that these leading modes arise from internal atmospheric dynamics and atmosphere-land coupling. However, in the fully coupled simulation, North American precipitation variability still correlates significantly with tropical ocean variability, consistent with observations and prior literature. We find that tropical ocean variability does not create its own type of atmospheric variability but excites internal atmospheric modes of variability in midlatitudes. This oceanic impact on North American precipitation is secondary to atmospheric impacts based on correlation. However, relative to the simulation without an interactive ocean, the fully coupled simulation amplifies precipitation variance over southwest North America (SWNA) during late spring to summer by up to 90%. The amplification is caused by a stronger variability in atmospheric moisture content that is attributed to tropical Pacific sea surface temperature variability. Enhanced atmospheric moisture variations over the tropical Pacific are transported by seasonal mean southwesterly winds into SWNA, resulting in larger precipitation variance.

     

五个全球大气海洋环流模式模拟二氧化碳增加对气候变化的影响

本文总结五个应用较广的全球大气与海洋环流模式(GFDL,GISS,NCAR,OSU与UKMO),模拟由于人类活动造成大气中二氧化碳浓度增加对气候变化的影响模拟表明,由于大气中二氧化碳浓度增加,将导致全球地面气温增暖大约4℃,其中高纬与极区冬季增暖更明显。高纬与极区海冰和积雪融化增加。全球降水率与土壤湿度在部分地区明显增加,部分地区明显减少,引人注意的是中纬度地区土壤湿度可能变干燥。 本文还给出发达国家与发展中国家在能源战略的各种考虑下各自相应对大气中二氧化碳浓度的影响,以及展望未来由于人类活动的结果,将对全球大气与海洋温度的变暖和土壤湿度变化的影响。     

Inertia and diurnal oscillations of Ekman layers in atmosphere and ocean

A 1D model, including a time variation of eddy viscosity and mixed layer depth, is applied to study Ekman spirals. It simulates a weak velocity in the atmosphere but a jet in the upper oceanic mixed layer during daytime; and a strong velocity in the atmosphere but a weak, uniform velocity in the ocean at night. The mean spirals in both atmosphere and ocean are close to the average spirals at midday and midnight, they are not flat as suggested by previous studies but consistent with the observations of Polton et al (2013). Our results also show shorter length scale for magnitude decay than for rotation of mean velocity as observed in the ocean, which comes from the combined effects of the diurnal variation of PBL and the Coriolis force. The latter becomes more important away from the surface. In the upper oceanic mixed layer, the mean velocity mainly comes from the strong jets in the late afternoon and early evening. Near and below the depth of Ekman depth, the weak velocities change with time and cancel out each other if averaged timing is longer than the inertia period. It results in diminishing of magnitude of the mean velocity, but the amplitude of individual parcel oscillating can still be quite large near the Ekman depth. Meanwhile, the change of velocity angle from the surface is near or less than 90 degree. Hence, shorter length scale for magnitude decay than for rotation of the mean velocity is not controlled by viscosity alone. Meanwhile, the model does not need two viscosities as suggested previously.The results also show that either the diurnal variation of surface stress or eddy viscosity alone can create a diurnal oscillation of velocity in the ocean. The interactions between PBL force and the Coriolis force can create a weak instability in the atmosphere and ocean at 30° and 90°. This weak instability may explain the observed nocturnal LLJ near 30 °N on the lee of the Rocky Mountains and the intensification of mesoscale circulation simulated by Sun and Wu (1992).     

A Coupled General Circulation Model for the Tropical Pacific Ocean and Global Atmosphere

On the basis of Zeng’s theoretical design, a coupled general circulation model (CGCM) is developed with its characteristics different from other CGCMs such as the unified vertical coordinates and subtraction of the standard stratification for both atmosphere and ocean, available energy consideration, and so on. The oceanic component is a free surface tropical Pacific Ocean GCM between 30oN and 30oS with horizontal grid spacing of 1o in latitude and 2o in longitude, and with 14 vertical layers. The atmospheric component it a global GCM with low-resolution of 4o in latitude and 5o in longitude, and two layers or equal man in the vertical between the surface and 200 hPa. The atmospheric GCM includes comprehensive physical processes. The coupled model is subjected to seasonally-varying cycle. Several coupling experiments, ranging from straight forward coupling without flux correction to one with flux correction, and to so-called predictor-corrector monthly coupling (PCMC), are conducted to show the existence and final controlling of the climate drift in the coupled system. After removing the climate drift with the PCMC scheme, the coupled model is integrated for more than twenty years. The results show reasonable simulations of the annual mean and its seasonal cycle of the atmospheric and oceanic circulation. The model also produces the coherent interannual variations of the climate system, manifesting the observed El Ni?o / Southern Oscillation (ENSO).     

Dynamics of lateral boundary meso-scale jet in the ocean and atmosphere

By using an ageostrophic shallow water model, it is pointed out that a kind of lateral boundary meso-scales jet can be established near the plateau or coast. The characteristic width of this kind of jet is proportional to the scale ofL _c=L₀(C₀/V_g), whereL ₀=C ₀/f is the radius of Rossby deformation,C ₀=(g ^* H)^1/2 the speed of gravity wave and g^* the reduced gravity. In general,L _c is of the order of one hundred kilometes and tens of kilometers in the atmosphere and in the ocean respectively. The large-scale geostrophic current is an important background condition for forming this kind of jet. From this view point it seems that this kind of atmospheric meso-scale jet only occurs in late spring and summer in the eastern part of Asia, because there is a large-scale south monsoon over there. For the ocean, this kind of meso-scale jet seems to be a semi-persistant system and not to show a significant seasonal variation, and it can be established on both sides of the ocean.     

On the coupling between vegetation and the atmosphere

Recent studies suggest that vegetation can drive large-scale atmospheric circulations and substantially influence the hydrologic cycle. We present observational evidence to quantify the extent of coupling between vegetation and the overlying atmosphere. Within the context of vegetation–atmospheric interactions, we reanalyze existing climatological data from springtime leaf emergence, emissivity, dew point temperatures, and historical records of precipitation and forest coverage. We construct new rainfall transects based on a robust global climatology. Using isotopic analysis of precipitation, we find that rain in Amazonia comes primarily from large-scale weather systems coupling interior regions to the ocean and is not directly driven by local evaporation. We find that changes in vegetative cover and state influence the temperature and moisture content of the surface and atmospheric boundary layer but are not reflected in observable precipitation changes. This analysis reaffirms the view that changes in precipitation over continental reaches are a product of complex processes only partly influenced but not controlled by local water sources or vegetation.     

Seasonal heat storage in the ocean and heating of the atmosphere

Summary One method of computing the seasonal heat budget of the atmosphere involves the seasonal heat storage in the oceans. On the basis of bathythermograph data and ocean surface temperatures, the heat added to, or released by the ocean was computed month by month. The heat stored in the ocean was then compared withGabites' estimate of the heat added by radiation and by means of the latent heat of water vapor. From this comparison, the heating of the atmosphere was approximated. In middle latitudes, the net heating of the atmosphere is close to zero during most of the year, so that even the sign of the atmospheric heating is in doubt there. During most of the year, the atmosphere undergoes net heating in low latitudes, and net cooling in high latitudes. The excess is removed by motions of the atmosphere and the ocean.

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Zusammenfassung Eine Methode, das jahreszeitliche Wärmebudget der Atmosphäre zu berechnen, hat auch der Wärmespericherung in den Ozeanen Rechnung zu tragen. Auf Grund von Wasserthermographenwerten und Ozeanoberflächentemperaturen wurden die dem Ozean zugeführten oder von ihm abgegebenen Wärmemengen monatsweise berechnet. Die im Ozean gespeicherte Wärme wurde dann mit der vonGabites aufgestellten Schätzung der durch Strahlung und durch die latente Wärme des Wasserdampfs zugeführten Wärmeenge verglichen und von dieser Vergleichung wurde auf die Erwärmung der Atmosphäre geschlossen. In mittleren Breiten liegt der Erwärmungszuwachs der Atmosphäre während des Großteils des Jahres bei Null, so daß sogar das Vorzeichen der Erwärmung zweifelhaft ist. Während des Großteils des Jahres erfährt die Atmosphäre dagegen in niederen Breiten einen Wärmezuwachs, in hohen Breiten einen Überschuß an Abkühlung. Diese Überschüsse werden durch Bewegungsvorgänge in der Atmosphäre und im Ozean verfrachtet.

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Résumé Une méthode visant à calcular le bilan thermique annuel de l'atmosphère doit tenir compte de la chaleur mise en réserve dans les mers. Des mesures de température de l'eau de mer en profondeur et en surface permettent d'établir les quantités de chaleur fournies mensuellement à la mer ou enlevée à celle-ci. La chaleur accumulée fut alors comparée à celle qu'estimeGabites en considérant la chaleur fournie par rayonnement et par la chaleur latente de la vapeur d'eau; on en a tiré une conclusion relative au réchauffement de l'atmosphère. Aux latitudes moyennes, l'accroissement de chaleur de cette dernière est voisine de zéro la plus grande partie de l'année, de sorte que même le signe est douteux. Aux latitudes basses par contre l'atmosphère reçoit de la chaleur pendant la plus grande partie de l'année; elle en perd aux latitudes élevées. Ces gains et ces pertes s'équilibrent in globo par les mouvements de l'air et de l'eau.

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With 4 Figures

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Presented at the 11th General Assembly, IUGG (IAM), Toronto, Septemer 1957.

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Dedicated to Dr.Anders K. Ångström on the occasion of his 70th birthday.     

四个耦合模式ENSO后报试验的“春季预报障碍”

用CliPAS计划中3个气候模式和中国科学院大气物理研究所耦合模式FGOALS-g短期气候异常回报试验结果,将动力和统计方法相结合,考察了1982—2003年厄尔尼诺/拉尼娜事件发展期和衰减期海表温度春季可预报性障碍现象。结果表明,所考察的耦合模式对ENSO事件预报的误差发展存在明显的季节依赖性,最大误差增长通常发生在春季,发生显著的可预报性障碍现象。进一步分析发现厄尔尼诺事件和拉尼娜事件在发展期的季节预报障碍现象比衰减期明显,以厄尔尼诺事件发展期春季可预报性障碍现象最为显著,拉尼娜事件衰减期季节预报障碍现象不显著。研究还发现,预报误差的增长在ENSO事件冷暖位相具有显著的非对称性,发展期暖位相预报误差强于冷位相,而衰减期冷位相的预报误差比暖位相大。通过回归分析,诊断了海-气相互作用的强度,发现耦合系统在春季最不稳定,使预报误差最易在春季发展,从而导致可预报性障碍。     

气候大气和海洋的临界时间跨度与非线性作用结构

研究了气候海洋与大气的临界时间跨度及其非线性作用的大致结构。与预报的空间分辩率及系统的非线性强度相联系，气候大气和海洋的临界时间跨度可反映系统可预报的相对时间尺度。对于具有同样空间特征尺度的大气和海洋，海洋的最小临界时间跨度约是大气的9倍（可达数日至数十日）。一般（外源变化缓慢的）气候海洋与大气的一阶非线性越强，其临界时间跨度越小。气候海洋与大气非线性作用的大致结构是：通常与科里奥利力对流体运动的规范作用（如地转运动）有关，非线性作用随纬度增加而减弱。距平流场的切变结构及其沿经向与纬向上强度的比较直接改变气候大气和海洋的非线性作用（比如，向东的距平环流强度与经向环流强度相当时，非线性作用最强），较强的外部驱动（风应力和压弹梯度力）使非线性作用加大等等。