On the statistical wind rose analysis

Summary In this paper an approximation of the occurrence probability of wind direction classes by means of a mixture distribution consisting of several component distributions is described. In particular, undetermined parameter values of a mixture distribution describing a wind rose are estimated by minimizing an appropriate function. Deviations of the obtained frequencies from the wind rose data are subjected to a chi-square test. Every component of the mixture distribution is expected to have an occurrence probability equal to the probability of the corresponding airflow type. This method has been applied to approximately two hundred wind data samples based on particular parts of a day and year. Results of two characteristic examples are discussed. It is expected that the statistically obtained components can be explained by meteorological and topoclimatological parameters.With 3 Figures     

Relaxation Method for Assimilation of Sea Ice Concentration Data in the NEMO—LIM3 Multicategory Sea Ice Model

Russian Meteorology and Hydrology - A method for the assimilation of data on sea ice concentration in the NEMO—LIM3 multicategory sea ice model is presented for application in the operational...     

An ocean data assimilation system and reanalysis of the World Ocean hydrophysical fields

A new version of the ocean data assimilation system (ODAS) developed at the Hydrometcentre of Russia is presented. The assimilation is performed following the sequential scheme analysis–forecast–analysis. The main components of the ODAS are procedures for operational observation data processing, a variational analysis scheme, and an ocean general circulation model used to estimate the first guess fields involved in the analysis. In situ observations of temperature and salinity in the upper 1400-m ocean layer obtained from various observational platforms are used as input data. In the new ODAS version, the horizontal resolution of the assimilating model and of the output products is increased, the previous 2D-Var analysis scheme is replaced by a more general 3D-Var scheme, and a more flexible incremental analysis updating procedure is introduced to correct the model calculations. A reanalysis of the main World Ocean hydrophysical fields over the 2005–2015 period has been performed using the updated ODAS. The reanalysis results are compared with data from independent sources.     

El Niño in 1991–1992 and its manifestations in the tropical Atlantic

A variety of anomalous conditions in the tropical Pacific and Atlantic oceans during the 1991–1992 El Niño event are described. The current El Niño is shown to have specific features, evident in the behaviour of the southern oscillation index and sea surface temperature of the equatorial Pacific Ocean. Also, it was accompanied by warming of the eastern tropical Atlantic. Temperature anomalies of the tropical Atlantic surface water temperature reached their maximum (>3°C) in May–June 1991, i.e. 2–3 months earlier than in the Pacific Ocean.Translated by V. Puchkin.     

Statistical structure of spatial variability of the ocean thermohaline fields from argo profiling data, 2005–2007

The means, variances, and three-dimensional spatial covariances of the ocean temperature and salinity anomalies in the upper 1400 m layer have been estimated using data of the Argo profiling floats from 2005 to 2007. The results of data processing suggest the continuation of general warming of the ocean waters noted in a number of papers based on earlier data. A pronounced geographical and vertical nonuniformity characterizes this warming but, as a whole, it is mostly distinct in the upper 100 m layer both in the tropics and midlatitudes. For the first time, the unique characteristics of the Argo observing system allowed us to obtain previously unfeasible estimates of the spatial statistics for salinity field. In particular, it has been demonstrated that the spatial structure of salinity anomalies is similar to those of temperature, excluding the case of the near-surface layer.     

Deep convection in the ocean general circulation model: Variability on the diurnal,seasonal, and interannual time scales

Features of geographical localization and of temporal variability of convective mixing were examined based on numerical experiments with the general ocean circulation model developed at the Hydrometeorological Research Center of the Russian Federation. The computations were performed using 6-h data on atmospheric forcing, which allows one to simulate the variability in a broad range of time scales—from diurnal to interannual. On the whole, the results of the numerical experiments are consistent with the available scarce observational data available on the deep convection in the North Atlantic. A pronounced regionalization of the deep convection in the open ocean is noted, as well as a significant spatial and temporal intermittence of convective events on time scales from a day to a few days. On the interannual time scale, a correlation is recognized with the variations of the atmospheric forcing and with the hydrophysical conditions in the ocean, in particular, with the cyclonic circulation within the baroclinic layer.