Physical properties of the formation of water exchange between Atlantic and Arctic Ocean

Physical regularities of water exchange between the North Atlantic (NA) and Arctic Ocean (AO) in 1958–2009 are analyzed on the basis of numerical experiments with an eddy-permitting model of ocean circulation. Variations in the heat and salt fluxes in the Greenland Sea near the Fram Strait caused by atmospheric forcing generate baroclinic modes of ocean currents in the 0–300 m layer, which stabilize the response of the ocean to atmospheric forcing. This facilitates the conservation of water exchange between the NA and AO at a specific climatic level. A quick response of dense water outflow into the deep layers of the NA through the Denmark Strait to the variations in the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) index was revealed on the monthly scale. A response on a time scale of 39 months was also revealed. The quick response on the NAO index variation was interrupted in 1969–1978, which was related to the Great Salinity Anomaly. It was shown that transverse oscillations of the Norwegian Atlantic Current significantly influence the formation of intermediate dense waters in the Greenland and Norwegian seas (GNS). The dense water outflow by bottom current (BC) to the deep layers of the NA through the Faroe Channels with a time lag of 1 year correlates with the transversal oscillations of the Norwegian Current front. The mass transport of the BC outflow from the Faroe Channels to the NA can serve as an integral indicator of the formation and sink of new portions of dense waters formed as a result of mixing of warm saline Atlantic waters and cold freshened Arctic waters in the GNS.     

Diffusion-Rotational Parameterization of Eddy Fluxes of Potential Vorticity: Barotropic Flow in the Zonal Channel

Izvestiya, Atmospheric and Oceanic Physics - The problem of parameterizing the eddy flux of a potential vorticity is discussed. The traditional diffusion parameterization is complemented by the...     

Modeling the global circulation response and the regional response of the Arctic Ocean to the external forcing anomalies

The problem of numerical modeling and analysis of the large-scale World Ocean circulation variability under variations of the external forcing is considered. A numerical model was developed in the INM RAS and is based on the primitive equations of the ocean circulation written in a spherical generalized σ-coordinate system. The model’s equations are approximated on a grid with resolution of 2.5° × 2° × 33, and the North Pole is displaced to the continental point (60°E, 60.5°N). There are two stages for the numerical experiments. The quasi-equilibrium circulation of the World Ocean under the climatological atmospheric forcing is simulated at the first stage. The run is carried out over a period of 3000 years during which a quasi-equilibrium model regime is formed. At the second stage, the sensitivity of the model ocean circulation to the atmospheric forcing perturbations in the Southern Hemisphere is studied. According to the results, the strongest regional changes in the hydrography take place in the Arctic Ocean. Substantial changes of sea’s surface height and local anomalies of the temperature and salinity are formed there.     

Modeling sea dynamics and turbulent zones on high spatial resolution nested grids

The problem of simulating sea dynamics in areas comprising near-shore zones and zones of high turbulence is considered. A mathematical model and the numerical algorithm of its solving are formulated. The model is based on the equations for nonhydrostatic dynamics and includes (k-ε) and (k-ω) parameterization of turbulent processes. The equations of the model are written in a σ-coordinate system. The numerical algorithm for solving the problem is based on the use of implicit schemes owing to the splitting with respect to the physical processes and space coordinates. The model calculations were performed for four nested sea basins with different spatial resolution: the Baltic Sea (3.7-km space resolution), the Gulf of Finland (1.85-km resolution), the Tallinn-Helsinki area (560-m resolution), and Tallinn Bay (93-m resolution). The results of the experiment show that the model well simulates the processes of enhanced turbulent activity in the near-shore zones that affect the local features of the sea characteristics.     

Variational Method for Solving the Quasi-Geostrophic Circulation Problem in a Two-Layer Ocean

Izvestiya, Atmospheric and Oceanic Physics - A new variational formulation and a method for solving the problem of quasi-geostrophic dynamics in a two-layer periodic channel are considered. The...     

Mixing parameterizations in ocean climate modeling

Results of numerical experiments with an eddy-permitting ocean circulation model on the simulation of the climatic variability of the North Atlantic and the Arctic Ocean are analyzed. We compare the ocean simulation quality with using different subgrid mixing parameterizations. The circulation model is found to be sensitive to a mixing parametrization. The computation of viscosity and diffusivity coefficients by an original splitting algorithm of the evolution equations for turbulence characteristics is found to be as efficient as traditional Monin–Obukhov parameterizations. At the same time, however, the variability of ocean climate characteristics is simulated more adequately. The simulation of salinity fields in the entire study region improves most significantly. Turbulent processes have a large effect on the circulation in the long-term through changes in the density fields. The velocity fields in the Gulf Stream and in the entire North Atlantic Subpolar Cyclonic Gyre are reproduced more realistically. The surface level height in the Arctic Basin is simulated more faithfully, marking the Beaufort Gyre better. The use of the Prandtl number as a function of the Richardson number improves the quality of ocean modeling.     

Technique for Simulation of Black Sea Circulation with Increased Resolution in the Area of the IO RAS Polygon

A numerical technique is presented for simulating the hydrophysical fields of the Black Sea on a variable-step grid with refinement in the area of IO RAS polygon. Model primitive equations are written in spherical coordinates with an arbitrary arrangement of poles. In order to increase the horizontal resolution of the coastal zone in the area of the IO RAS polygon in the northeastern part of the sea near Gelendzhik, one of the poles is placed at a land point (38.35° E, 44.75° N). The model horizontal resolution varies from 150 m in the area of the IO RAS polygon to 4.6 km in the southwestern part of the Black Sea. The numerical technique makes it possible to simulate a large-scale structure of Black Sea circulation as well as the meso- and submesoscale dynamics of the coastal zone. In order to compute the atmospheric forcing, the results of the regional climate model WRF with a resolution of about 10 km in space and 1 h in time are used. In order to demonstrate the technique, Black Sea hydrophysical fields for 2011–2012 and a passive tracer transport representing self-cleaning of Gelendzhik Bay in July 2012 are simulated.     

Algorithm of the <Emphasis Type="Italic">k</Emphasis>–ω Turbulence Equations Solution for the Ocean General Circulation Model

The algorithm for splitting k–ω turbulence equations is used to parameterize viscosity and diffusion coefficients in the ocean general circulation model. The k–ω equations are split into stages describing the transport-diffusion and generation-dissipation of the turbulent kinetic energy and frequency function ω. At the generation-dissipation stage, the equations are solved analytically. Calculations of circulation in the North Atlantic–Arctic Ocean for 1948–2009 have been carried out. The experiments demonstrate an adequate reproduction of hydrophysical characteristics and high efficiency of the algorithm. It is shown that considering the climatic annual mean buoyancy frequency in the turbulence equations at the generation-dissipation stage is an important factor in improving the accuracy of simulated fields.