Maintenance of the mean kinetic energy in the global ocean by the barotropic and baroclinic energy routes: the roles of JEBAR and Ekman dynamics |
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Authors: | Hidenori Aiki Kelvin J Richards Hirofumi Sakuma |
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Institution: | (1) International Pacific Research Center, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI, USA;(2) Research Institute for Global Change, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, Yokohama, Japan |
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Abstract: | In order to determine the maintenance mechanisms of the currents of the global ocean, this study investigates the budget of
the annual mean kinetic energy (KE) in a high-resolution (0.1° × 0.1°) semi-global ocean simulation. The analysis is based
on a separation of the mean KE using the barotropic (i.e., depth-averaged) and baroclinic (the residual) components of velocity.
The barotropic and baroclinic KEs dominate in higher and lower latitudes, respectively, with their global average being comparable
to each other. The working rates of wind forcing on the barotropic and baroclinic circulations in the global ocean are 243
and 747 gigawatts, respectively. This study presents at least three new results for the budget of the barotropic KE. Firstly,
an energy diagram is rederived to show that the work of the barotropic component of the horizontal pressure gradient (HPG)
is connected to the work related to the joint effect of baroclinicity and bottom relief (JEBAR), and then to the budget of
potential energy (PE). Secondly, the model analysis shows that the globally averaged work of the barotropic HPG (which is
connected to the work related to JEBAR and then to the budget of the PE) is nearly zero. This indicates that the wind- and
buoyancy-induced barotropic circulations in the global ocean are of the same strength with opposite sign. Thirdly, it is found
that the work of the wind forcing on the barotropic component of the simulated Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) is canceled
by the combined effect, in equal measure, of the work of the barotropic HPG and the work of dissipative processes for mean
KE. This result makes a significant contribution to the discussion on the depth-integrated momentum balance of the ACC. The
barotropic KE is dissipated by the effects of bottom frictional stress, lateral frictional stress, and the Reynolds stress,
of which more than half is attributed to an unexpectedly large contribution from biharmonic horizontal friction. Future studies
should pay more attention to the role of biharmonic friction used in high-resolution numerical models. |
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