Causes of a fresher, colder northern North Atlantic in late 20th century in a coupled model

Observational evidence indicates that in the northern North Atlantic, especially in the Labrador Sea, almost the whole column of the ocean water is fresher, and colder in late 20th century than in 1950–1960s. Here we analyze a four-member ensemble of the 20th century simulations from a coupled climate model to examine the possible causes for these observed changes. The model simulations resemble the observed changes in the northern North Atlantic. The simulated results show that a decreased meridional freshwater divergence and an increased meridional heat divergence associated with a weaker thermohaline circulation in the North Atlantic are the primary causes for the freshening and cooling in the northern North Atlantic. The increased precipitation less evaporation tends to enforce the freshening, but the reduced sea ice flux into this region tends to weaken it. On the other hand, the surface warming induced by a higher atmospheric CO₂ concentration tends to heat up the northern North Atlantic, but is overcome by the cooling from increased meridional heat divergence.     

北太平洋经向翻转环流和热盐输送研究综述

北太平洋经向翻转环流是北太平洋所有经向翻转环流圈的总称,目前它拥有五个环流圈,即副热带环流圈(the subtropical cell,STC)、热带环流圈(the tropical cell,TC)、副极地环流圈(the subpolar cell,SPC)、深层热带环流圈(the deep tropical cell,DTC)和温跃层环流圈(the thermohaline cell,THC)。这些环流圈是北太平洋经向物质和能量交换的重要通道,它们的变化对海洋上层热盐结构和气候变化皆有重要影响。迄今,人们已对STC、TC和DTC的结构形态、变化特征与机理开展了广泛而深入的研究,并对STC的极向热输送特征也做了一些初步分析。但应指出的是,关于SPC和THC的研究仍较少,迄今尚不清楚这两个环流圈的三维结构和变异机理;而且,对北太平洋经向翻转环流的热盐输送研究尚处于起步阶段,目前对各环流圈的热盐输送特征、变化规律和变异机理仍知之甚少,这些科学问题亟待深入研究。     

A model of the upper branch of the meridional overturning of the southern ocean

A zonal-average model of the upper branch of the meridional overturning circulation of the southern ocean is constructed and used to discuss the processes – wind, buoyancy, eddy forcing and boundary conditions – that control its strength and sense of circulation. The geometry of the thermocline ‘wedge’, set by the mapping between the vertical spacing of buoyancy surfaces (the stratification) on the equatorial flank of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current and their outcrop at the sea surface, is seen to play a central role by setting the interior large-scale potential vorticity distribution. It is shown that the action of eddies mixing this potential vorticity field induces a residual flow in the meridional plane much as is observed, with upwelling of fluid around Antarctica, northward surface flow and subduction to form intermediate water. Along with this overturning circulation there is a concomitant air-sea buoyancy flux directed in to the ocean.     

Numerical investigation of deep water circulation in the Faroese Channels

The overflow of dense water from the Nordic Seas through the Faroese Channels is investigated numerically using the Massachusetts Institute of Technology General Circulation Model. The model is forced by the removal of a barrier that separates different water masses in the bottom layer of the Faroe-Shetland Channel at the north-eastern boundary. An analysis of the output reveals that during its adjustment in the rotating channel the propagating flow is unstable and forms cyclonic and anti-cyclonic eddies in the Faroese Channels. The life-time of the cyclonic eddy is about 10 days, but an anti-cyclonic eddy that is formed upstream of the sill crest of the Faroe Bank Channel has a longer life-time. However, after 50 days it eventually loses its structure below 400 m due to the decay of a counter-rotating current. In the upper 400 m layer this anti-cyclonic eddy remains persistent for longer. Observational evidence of the eddy is confirmed by the tracks of experimental drifters released in the area and by the temperature and salinity fields observed in the Faroese Channels.The pinching of isotherms along the Wyville Thomson Ridge results in the concentration of cold water on the southern side of the Faroese Channels that overflows into the Rockall Trough. The model results demonstrate that the main part of the cold water outflows through the Faroe Bank Channel, rather than across the Wyville Thompson Ridge, due to Earth rotation. The apparent similarity of modelled temperature, salinity and velocity sections to recent measurements in this area adds confidence to these results.     

Constructing an idealized model of the North Atlantic Ocean using slippery sacks

This paper documents the continued development and testing of a new Lagrangian oceanic general circulation model. The slippery sacks ocean model (SSOM), which represents a body of water as a pile of conforming parcels, is improved and is used to simulate circulations in homogeneous oceans and in an idealized model of the North Atlantic Ocean.A method for including horizontal mixing in the SSOM is presented. A given sack’s nearest neighbors are identified in the positive and negative x- and y-directions, and the sack exchanges momentum and/or tracers with these neighbors. This formulation of mixing is straightforward to implement, computationally efficient, and it produces results similar to a standard Eulerian finite-difference representation of diffusion.The model’s ability to reproduce the Stommel and Munk solutions to the classical western boundary current problem is tested. When steps are taken to reduce the potential energy barrier to sacks crossing one another, the model generates circulations that are consistent with linear theory. In moderately non-linear regimes the model produces appropriate departures from linear solutions including a boundary current that continues along the northern boundary for a time.Taking advantage of the new mixing scheme and lessons learned from simulations of homogeneous oceans, the authors construct an idealized model of the North Atlantic Ocean. They compare simulations conducted with the SSOM to similar simulations conducted with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology general circulation model (MITgcm). The SSOM and the MITgcm produce similar wind-forced gyres, thermocline structure, and meridional overturning. The SSOM is also used to explore how circulations change in the limit when tracer diffusion goes to zero.     

Importance of eddy representation for modeling the intermediate salinity minimum in the North Pacific: Comparison between eddy-resolving and eddy-permitting models

In order to confirm the results of the authors’ previous work, which found that the existence of disturbances smaller than meso-scale eddies is important in large-scale mixing process between the Oyashio and Kuroshio waters in the intermediate layer, the results of an eddy-resolving model experiment are analyzed and compared with those of an eddy-permitting model. The intermediate salinity minimum given in the initial condition weakens as integration advances in the eddy-permitting model, while it recovers rapidly and is maintained thereafter in the eddy-resolving model, initialized from the unrealistic salinity distribution of the former. Filament-like fine structures in temperature and salinity develop actively in the latter, which are much smaller in horizontal width than meso-scale eddies, suggesting the importance of such disturbances in the large-scale mixing. The mixing ratio of the Oyashio water defined by the original Oyashio and Kuroshio waters shows that its value is generally higher in the intermediate lower sub-layer than in the intermediate upper sub-layer in the Mixed Water Region, and the salinity minimum exists between layers with low and high values of the mixing ratio with its strong vertical gradient. The eddy transports of the Oyashio and Kuroshio waters in an isopycnal layer are divided into four components, usual isopycnal mixing of temperature and salinity being dominant, followed by the component associated with the thickness flux. The southward eddy transport of the Oyashio water and the northward eddy transport of the Kuroshio water are not symmetric to each other because the thickness-flux-associated components are in the same direction (southward).     

涡分辨率模式模拟的南海中尺度涡旋

Mesoscale eddies(MEs) in the South China Sea(SCS) simulated by a quasi-global eddy-resolving ocean general circulation model are evaluated against satellite data during 1993–2007. The modeled ocean data show more activity than shown by the satellite data and reproduces more eddies in the SCS. A total of 345(428) cyclonic eddies(CEs) and 330(371) anti-cyclonic eddies(AEs) generated for satellite(model) data are identified during the study period, showing increase of ~24% and ~12% for the model data, respectively. Compared with eddies in satellite, the simulated eddies tend to have smaller radii, larger amplitudes, a slightly longer lifetime, faster movement and rotation speed, a slightly larger nonlinear properties(U/c) in the model. However, the spatial distribution of generated eddies appears to be inhomogeneous, with more CEs in the northern part of SCS and fewer AEs in the southern part. This is attributed to the exaggerated Kuroshio intrusion in the model because the small islands in the Luzon Strait are still not well resolved although the horizontal resolution reaches(1/10)°. The seasonal variability in the number and the amplitude of eddies generated is also investigated.     

Numerical study of the meridional overturning circulation with “mixing hotspots” in the Pacific Ocean

Using an idealized ocean general circulation model, we examine the effect of “mixing hotspots” (localized regions of intense diapycnal mixing) predicted based on internal wave-wave interaction theory (Hibiya et al., 2006) on the meridional overturning circulation of the Pacific Ocean. Although the assumed diapycnal diffusivity in the mixing hotspots is a little larger than the predicted value, the upwelling in the mixing hotspots is not sufficient to balance the deep-water production; out of 17 Sv of the downwelled water along the southern boundary, only 9.2 Sv is found to upwell in the mixing hotspots. The imbalance as much as 7.8 Sv is compensated by entrainment into the surface mixed layer in the vicinity of the downwelling region. As a result, the northward transport of the deep water crossing the equator is limited to 5.5 Sv, much less than estimated from previous current meter moorings and hydrographic surveys. One plausible explanation for this is that the magnitude of the meridional overturning circulation of the Pacific Ocean has been overestimated by these observations. We raise doubts about the validity of the previous ocean general circulation models where diapycnal diffusivity is assigned ad hoc to attain the current magnitude suggested from current meter moorings and hydrographic surveys.     

The seasonal variation of the North Pacific Meridional Overturning Circulation heat transport

Based on the 50-year Simple Ocean Data Assimilation (SODA) reanalysis data, we investigated the basic characteristics and seasonal changes of the meridional heat transport carried by the North Pacific Meridional Overturning Circulation. And we also examined the dynamical and thermodynamic mechanisms responsible for these heat transport variability at the seasonal time scale. Among four cells, the tropical cell (TC) is strongest with a northward heat transport (NHT) of (1.75±0.30) PW (1 PW=1.0×10^15 W) and a southward heat transport (SHT) of (-1.69±0.55) PW, the subtropical cell (STC) is second with a NHT of (0.71±0.65) PW and SHT of (-0.63±0.53) PW, the deep tropical cell (DTC) is third with a NHT of (0.18±0.03) PW and SHT of (-0.18±0.11) PW, while the subpolar cell (SPC) is weakest with a NHT of (0.09±0.05) PW and SHT of (-0.07±0.09) PW. These four cells all have diff erent seasonal changes in their NHT and SHT. Of all, the TC has stronger change in its SHT than in its NHT, so do both the DTC and SPC, but the seasonal change in the STC SHT is weaker than that in its NHT. Therefore, their dynamical and thermodynamic mechanisms are diff erent each other. The local zonal wind stress and net surface heat flux are mainly responsible for the seasonal changes in the TC and STC NHTs and SPC SHT, while the local thermocline circulations and sea temperature are primarily responsible for the seasonal changes of the TC, STC and DTC SHTs and SPC NHT.     

An inverse model of the large scale circulation in the South Indian Ocean

An overview of the large-scale circulation of the South Indian Ocean (SIO) (10°S-70°S/20°E-120°E) is proposed based on historical hydrographic data (1903-1996) synthesized with a finite-difference inverse model. The in situ density, potential temperature and salinity fields of selected hydrographic stations are projected on the basis of EOFs. Then the EOF coefficients (the projected values) are interpolated on the model grid (1° in latitude, 2° in longitude) using an objective analysis whose spatial correlation functions are fitted to the data set. The resulting fields are the input of the inverse model. This procedure filters out the small-scale features. Twelve modes are needed to keep the vertical structures of the fields but the first three modes are sufficient to reproduce the large-scale horizontal features of the SIO: the Subtropical Gyre, the Weddell Gyre, the different branches of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current.The dynamics is steady state. The estimated circulation is in geostrophic balance and satisfies mass, heat and potential vorticity conservation. The wind and air-sea heat forcing are annual means from ERS1 and ECMWF, respectively.The main features of the various current systems of the SIO are quantified and reveal topographic control of the deep and bottom circulation. The cyclonic Weddell Gyre, mainly barotropic, transports 45 Sv (1 Sv = 10⁶m³/s), and has an eastern extension limited by the southern part of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current.The bottom circulation north of 50°S is complex. The Deep Western Boundary Currents are identified as well as cyclonic recirculations. South east of the Kerguelen Plateau, the bottom circulation is in good agreement with previous water mass analysis. The comparison between some recent regional analysis and the inverse estimation is limited by the model resolution and lack of deep data.The meridional overturning circulation (MOC) is estimated from the finite difference inverse model. Between 26°S and 32°S the reversal of the current deepens and reaches 1400 m at 32°S. The major part of the deep meridional transport at 32°S is located between the African coast and the Madagascar Ridge, carried by the Agulhas Undercurrent. The mean value for this meridional thermohaline recirculation is 8.8 ± 4.4 Sv between 26°S and 32°S. The Agulhas Undercurrent (11 Sv) is associated with a weak Agulhas Current (55 Sv). The MOC is thus trapped in the western margin of the Southwest Indian Ridge. The corresponding vertical velocity along 32°S between 30°E and 42°E is 7.2 × 10⁻⁵ ± 8.9 × 10⁻⁵ cm s⁻¹. The net meridional heat flux represents −0.53 PW at 18°S and −0.33 PW at 32°S (negative values for southward transports). The intensity of the meridional heat flux is linked to the intensity of the Agulhas Current and to the vertical mixing.     

引潮力对海洋环流模式的影响

The eight main tidal constituents have been implemented in the global ocean general circulation model with approximate 1° horizontal resolution.Compared with the observation data,the patterns of the tidal amplitudes and phases had been simulated fairly well.The responses of mean circulation,temperature and salinity are further investigated in the global sense.When implementing the tidal forcing,wind-driven circulations are reduced,especially those in coastal regions.It is also found that the upper cell transport of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation(AMOC) reduces significantly,while its deep cell transport is slightly enhanced from 9×106m3/s to 10×106 m3/s.The changes of circulations are all related to the increase of a bottom friction and a vertical viscosity due to the tidal forcing.The temperature and salinity of the model are also significantly affected by the tidal forcing through the enhanced bottom friction,mixing and the changes in mean circulation.The largest changes occur in the coastal regions,where the water is cooled and freshened.In the open ocean,the changes are divided into three layers:cooled and freshened on the surface and below 3 000 m,and warmed and salted in the middle in the open ocean.In the upper two layers,the changes are mainly caused by the enhanced mixing,as warm and salty water sinks and cold and fresh water rises;whereas in the deep layer,the enhancement of the deep overturning circulation accounts for the cold and fresh changes in the deep ocean.     

洋际交换及其在全球大洋环流中的作用:MOM4p1积分1400年的结果

利用非Boussinesq近似下MOM4p1的全球大洋环流预后模式,采用真实地形,以静止状态为初始条件,进行了1 400a积分,以研究平衡状态下大洋环流的结构。模式由月平均气候态强迫场驱动,包括192×189个水平网格和压力坐标下的31个垂直层次。着重研究达到平衡状态后,各洋际通道处的质量、热量输运和补偿及其在全球大洋环流中的作用。根据动能演变特征表明,积分过程分为3个阶段:风海流的成长及准稳定状态;热盐环流的成长过程以及热盐环流的稳定状态;由静止状态冷启动达到热盐环流的稳定状态,积分过程必须在千年以上。模式结果再现了从白令海峡到格陵兰海的北冰洋贯穿流和印度尼西亚贯穿流,并用已有观测资料对它们进行对比。分析表明,海面的倾斜结构是形成太平洋-北冰洋-大西洋贯穿流和印尼贯穿流的主要动力机制。分析指出,尽管在北大西洋存在1.4×106 m3/s的南向体积输运,但其热量输运却是北向的并达到1015 W量级,其原因是北向的上层海流温度远高于北大西洋深层水向南的回流。文章分析了经向体积和热量输运对北大西洋深层水补偿来源及大西洋经向翻转环流的贡献。模拟所得洋际交换的量值可以由经向补偿予以合理解释,并得到以往实测与数模结果的支持。洋际通道处的体积和热量交换突出体现了其在大洋传送带系统中的枢纽作用。     

世界大洋中绝热运动导致的纬向翻转环流和纬向热输送

Zonal overturning circulation(ZOC) and its associated zonal heat flux(ZHF) are important components of the oceanic circulation and climate system, although these conceptions have not received adequate attentions.Heaving induced by inter-annual and decadal wind stress perturbations can give rise to anomalous ZOC and ZHF.Based on a simple reduced gravity model, the anomalous ZOC and ZHF induced by idealized heaving modes in the world oceans are studied. For example, in a Pacific-like model basin intensified equatorial easterly on decadal time scales can lead to a negative ZOC with a non-negligible magnitude(–0.3×106 m3/s) and a considerable westward ZHF with an amplitude of –11.2 TW. Thus, anomalous ZOC and ZHF may consist of a major part of climate signals on decadal time scales and thus play an important role in the oceanic circulation and climate change.     

The three-dimensional structure and seasonal variation of the North Pacific meridional overturning circulation

The three-dimensional structure and the seasonal variation of the North Pacific meridional overturning circulation (NPMOC) are analyzed based on the Simple Ocean Data Assimilation data and Argo profiling float data.The NPMOC displays a multi-cell structure with four cells in the North Pacific altogether.The TC and the STC are a strong clockwise meridional cell in the low latitude ocean and a weaker clockwise meridional cell between 7°N and 18°N,respectively, while the DTC and the subpolar cell are a weaker ...     

Spatial and seasonal variability of global ocean diapycnal transport inferred from Argo profiles

The global diapycnal transport in the ocean interior is one of the significant branches to return the deep water back toward near-surface. However, the amount of the diapycnal transport and the seasonal variations are not determined yet. This paper estimates the dissipation rate and the associated diapycnal transports at 500 m, 750 m and 1 000 m depth throughout the global ocean from the wide-spread Argo profiles, using the finescale parameterizations and classic advection-diff usion balance. The net upwelling is ~5.2±0.81 Sv (Sverdrup) which is approximately one fifth in magnitude of the formation of the deep water. The Southern Ocean is the major region with the upward diapycnal transport, while the downwelling emerges mainly in the northern North Atlantic. The upwelling in the Southern Ocean accounts for over 50% of the amount of the global summation. The seasonal cycle is obvious at 500 m and vanishes with depth, indicating the energy source at surface. The enhancement of diapycnal transport occurs at 1000min the Southern Ocean, which is pertinent with the internal wave generation due to the interaction between the robust deep-reaching flows and the rough topography. Our estimates of the diapycnal transport in the ocean interior have implications for the closure of the oceanic energy budget and the understanding of global Meridional Overturning Circulation.     

北极径流增加对大西洋经向翻转环流影响的模拟研究

观测显示过去几十年间北极入海径流呈现增加趋势,CMIP5耦合模式预测表明21世纪北极入海径流仍会增加,在RCP8.5路径下,21世纪末北极入海径流量将会是1950年的1.4倍。本文利用冰-海耦合数值模式研究了北极径流增加对大西洋经向翻转环流的影响。基于两个数值实验的结果表明,如果北极入海径流按每年0.22%的速度（与RCP8.5路径下的速度相当）增加,大西洋经向翻转环流的强度在100、150和200年后将会分别减弱0.6（3%）、1.2（7%）和1.8（11%） Sv。北极入海径流增加导致大西洋经向翻转环流减弱的主要原因是,北极入海径流增加的淡水被输运到北大西洋后,会抑制北大西洋深层水的生成,这也会导致北大西洋深层水海水年龄的增加。     

南海浅层经向翻转环流及相关的内部水体流动

The structure of the annual-mean shallow meridional overturning circulation(SMOC) in the South China Sea(SCS) and the related water movement are investigated,using simple ocean data assimilation(SODA) outputs.The distinct clockwise SMOC is present above 400 m in the SCS on the climatologically annual-mean scale,which consists of downwelling in the northern SCS,a southward subsurface branch supplying upwelling at around 10°N and a northward surface flow,with a strength of about 1×10~6 m~3/s.The formation mechanisms of its branches are studied separately.The zonal component of the annual-mean wind stress is predominantly westward and causes northward Ekman transport above 50 m.The annual-mean Ekman transport across 18°N is about 1.2×10~6 m~3/s.An annual-mean subduction rate is calculated by estimating the net volume flux entering the thermocline from the mixed layer in a Lagrangian framework.An annual subduction rate of about 0.66×10~6m~3/s is obtained between 17° and 20°N,of which 87% is due to vertical pumping and 13% is due to lateral induction.The subduction rate implies that the subdution contributes significantly to the downwelling branch.The pathways of traced parcels released at the base of the February mixed layer show that after subduction water moves southward to as far as 11°N within the western boundary current before returning northward.The velocity field at the base of mixed layer and a meridional velocity section in winter also confirm that the southward flow in the subsurface layer is mainly by strong western boundary currents.Significant upwelling mainly occurs off the Vietnam coast in the southern SCS.An upper bound for the annual-mean net upwelling rate between 10° and 15°N is 0.7×10~6m~3/s,of which a large portion is contributed by summer upwelling,with both the alongshore component of the southwest wind and its offshore increase causing great upwelling.     

北太平洋经向翻转环流年际变化的数值模拟

北太平洋经向翻转环流(NPMOC)是北太平洋所有经向翻转环流圈的总称,拥有5个环流圈结构.其中,热带环流圈(TC)、副热带环流圈(STC)和深层热带环流圈(DTC)位于北太平洋热带-副热带海域,是该海域间经向物质和能量交换的重要通道.主要运用NEMO模式对这3个经向翻转环流圈的年际变化特征和机理进行了研究.结果表明,TC、STC和DTC的经向流量都具有显著的年际变化特征:在El Nio期间,TC的南、北向流量均减弱,STC的北向流量增强、南向流量减弱,DTC的南向流量减弱;而在La Nia期间则相反.敏感性试验表明,在风应力强迫下得到的TC、STC南、北向流量和DTC南向流量的年际变化特征都很显著,并与在风应力、热通量和淡水通量共同强迫下得到的结果非常一致;而仅在热通量和淡水通量的强迫下,各分支流量的年际变化均较小.由此可见,风场驱动是引起北太平洋经向翻转环流年际变化的主要驱动因素,而热通量和淡水通量的影响却较小.     

南海等密度面环流季节变化的数值模拟研究

In this study, we develop a variable-grid global ocean general circulation model(OGCM) with a fine grid(1/6)°covering the area from 20°S–50°N and from 99°–150°E, and use the model to investigate the isopycnal surface circulation in the South China Sea(SCS). The simulated results show four layer structures in vertical: the surface and subsurface circulation of the SCS are characterized by the monsoon driven circulation, with basin-scaled cyclonic gyre in winter and anti-cyclonic gyre in summer. The intermediate layer circulation is opposite to the upper layer, showing anti-cyclonic gyre in winter but cyclonic gyre in summer. The circulation in the deep layer is much weaker in spring and summer, with the maximum velocity speed below 0.6 cm/s. In fall and winter, the SCS deep layer circulation shows strong east boundary current along the west coast of Philippine with the velocity speed at 1.5 m/s, which flows southward in fall and northward in winter. The results have also revealed a fourlayer vertical structure of water exchange through the Luzon Strait. The dynamics of the intermediate and deep circulation are attributed to the monsoon driving and the Luzon Strait transport forcing.