The authors present the first quantitative comparison between new velocity datasets and high-resolution models in the North Atlantic subpolar gyre [1/10° Parallel Ocean Program model (POPNA10), Miami Isopycnic Coordinate Ocean Model (MICOM), ⅙° Atlantic model (ATL6), and Family of Linked Atlantic Ocean Model Experiments (FLAME)]. At the surface, the model velocities agree generally well with World Ocean Circulation Experiment (WOCE) drifter data. Two noticeable exceptions are the weakness of the East Greenland coastal current in models and the presence in the surface layers of a strong southwestward East Reykjanes Ridge Current. At depths, the most prominent feature of the circulation is the boundary current following the continental slope. In this narrow flow, it is found that gridded float datasets cannot be used for a quantitative comparison with models. The models have very different patterns of deep convection, and it is suggested that this could be related to the differences in their barotropic transport at Cape Farewell. Models show a large drift in watermass properties with a salinization of the Labrador Sea Water. The authors believe that the main cause is related to horizontal transports of salt because models with different forcing and vertical mixing share the same salinization problem. A remarkable feature of the model solutions is the large westward transport over Reykjanes Ridge [10 Sv (Sv ≡ 106 m3 s−1) or more].
The North Atlantic Subpolar Gyre in Four High-Resolution Models
Authors:
A. M. Treguier*, S. Theetten*, E. P. Chassignet+, T. Penduff#, R. Smith@, L. Talley&, J. O. Beismann**, and C. Böning++Affiliations *Laboratoire de Physique des Oceans, CNRS–IFREMER–UBO, Brest, France
Affiliations +RSMAS/MPO, University of Miami, Miami, Florida
Affiliations #Laboratoire des Ecoulements Geophysiques et Industriels, Joseph Fourier University, Grenoble, France
Affiliations @Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico
Affiliations&Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California
Affiliations **NEC High Performance Computing Europe GmbH, Düsseldorf, Germany
Affiliations ++Institüt für Meereskunde, Kiel, Germany
Affiliations +RSMAS/MPO, University of Miami, Miami, Florida
Affiliations #Laboratoire des Ecoulements Geophysiques et Industriels, Joseph Fourier University, Grenoble, France
Affiliations @Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico
Affiliations&Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California
Affiliations **NEC High Performance Computing Europe GmbH, Düsseldorf, Germany
Affiliations ++Institüt für Meereskunde, Kiel, Germany
Received: 10 November 2003
Final Form: 12 October 2004
Published Online: 1 May 2005
May 2005
