High-resolution numerical simulation of the Pacific Ocean

The present study developed Pacific Ocean models from the Research Institute for Applied Mechanics Ocean Model (RIAMOM) with very high horizontal (1/6° and 1/12°) and vertical (70 levels) resolutions. The hydrographic features of the simulations show good agreement with observed climatological features. Solution differences between the 1/6° and 1/12° models are small for general features of various physical components, but large for eddy fields and the strengths of western boundary currents and their extensions. However, the two high-resolution models show realistic climatological features of Pacific Ocean circulation patterns. Volume transports through major straits in the northwestern Pacific Ocean were also simulated and compared with previous observational results.