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Abstract
A new formulation is proposed for the evaluation of the dianeutral transport in the ocean. The method represents an extension of the classical diagnostic approach for estimating the water-mass formation from the buoyancy balance. The inclusion of internal sources such as the penetrative solar shortwave radiation (i.e., depth-dependent heat transfer) in the estimate of surface buoyancy fluxes has a significant impact in several oceanic regions, and the former simplified formulation can lead to a 100% error in the estimate of water-mass formation due to surface buoyancy fluxes. Furthermore, internal mixing can also be overestimated in inversions of in situ data when the shortwave radiation is not allowed to be penetrative.
The method examines the evolution equation of neutral density via the tendencies of potential temperature and salinity. The neutral density framework does not require the choice of a reference pressure and thus, unlike previous approaches that consider potential density, it is well suited for examining the whole open-ocean water column.
The methodology is easy to implement, particularly for ocean numerical models. The authors present here its application to a long simulation made with an ice–ocean global model, which allowed the method to be validated.
Abstract
A new formulation is proposed for the evaluation of the dianeutral transport in the ocean. The method represents an extension of the classical diagnostic approach for estimating the water-mass formation from the buoyancy balance. The inclusion of internal sources such as the penetrative solar shortwave radiation (i.e., depth-dependent heat transfer) in the estimate of surface buoyancy fluxes has a significant impact in several oceanic regions, and the former simplified formulation can lead to a 100% error in the estimate of water-mass formation due to surface buoyancy fluxes. Furthermore, internal mixing can also be overestimated in inversions of in situ data when the shortwave radiation is not allowed to be penetrative.
The method examines the evolution equation of neutral density via the tendencies of potential temperature and salinity. The neutral density framework does not require the choice of a reference pressure and thus, unlike previous approaches that consider potential density, it is well suited for examining the whole open-ocean water column.
The methodology is easy to implement, particularly for ocean numerical models. The authors present here its application to a long simulation made with an ice–ocean global model, which allowed the method to be validated.
Abstract
Pathways of wind-power input into the ocean general circulation are analyzed using Ekman theory. Direct rates of wind work can be calculated through the wind stress acting on the surface geostrophic flow. However, because that energy is transported laterally in the Ekman layer, the injection into the geostrophic interior is actually controlled by Ekman pumping, with a pattern determined by the wind curl rather than the wind itself. Regions of power injection into the geostrophic interior are thus generally shifted poleward compared to regions of direct wind-power input, most notably in the Southern Ocean, where on average energy enters the interior 10° south of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current core. An interpretation of the wind-power input to the interior is proposed, expressed as a downward flux of pressure work. This energy flux is a measure of the work done by the Ekman pumping against the surface elevation pressure, helping to maintain the observed anomaly of sea surface height relative to the global-mean sea level.
Abstract
Pathways of wind-power input into the ocean general circulation are analyzed using Ekman theory. Direct rates of wind work can be calculated through the wind stress acting on the surface geostrophic flow. However, because that energy is transported laterally in the Ekman layer, the injection into the geostrophic interior is actually controlled by Ekman pumping, with a pattern determined by the wind curl rather than the wind itself. Regions of power injection into the geostrophic interior are thus generally shifted poleward compared to regions of direct wind-power input, most notably in the Southern Ocean, where on average energy enters the interior 10° south of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current core. An interpretation of the wind-power input to the interior is proposed, expressed as a downward flux of pressure work. This energy flux is a measure of the work done by the Ekman pumping against the surface elevation pressure, helping to maintain the observed anomaly of sea surface height relative to the global-mean sea level.
Abstract
Large-scale overturning cells in the ocean typically combine an essentially horizontal surface branch and an interior branch below, where the circulation spans both horizontal and vertical scales. The aim of this study is to analyze the impact of this asymmetry between the two branches by “folding” a one-dimensional thermohaline loop, such that its lower part remains vertical while its upper part is folded down into the horizontal plane. It is found that both the transitory response and the distribution of thermohaline properties are modified significantly when the loop is folded. In some cases, velocity oscillations are induced during the spinup that were not seen in the unfolded case. This is because a circular loop allows for compensations between the density torques produced above and below the heat forcing level, while such compensations are not possible in the folded loop because of the horizontal direction of the surface circulation. Furthermore, the dynamical effects associated with nonlinearities of the equation of state are significantly altered by the folding. Cabbeling tends to decelerate the flow in the folded loop, instead of accelerating it as in the circular case, and can also act to dampen velocity oscillations. Thermobaricity also alters the loop circulation, although comparatively less.
Abstract
Large-scale overturning cells in the ocean typically combine an essentially horizontal surface branch and an interior branch below, where the circulation spans both horizontal and vertical scales. The aim of this study is to analyze the impact of this asymmetry between the two branches by “folding” a one-dimensional thermohaline loop, such that its lower part remains vertical while its upper part is folded down into the horizontal plane. It is found that both the transitory response and the distribution of thermohaline properties are modified significantly when the loop is folded. In some cases, velocity oscillations are induced during the spinup that were not seen in the unfolded case. This is because a circular loop allows for compensations between the density torques produced above and below the heat forcing level, while such compensations are not possible in the folded loop because of the horizontal direction of the surface circulation. Furthermore, the dynamical effects associated with nonlinearities of the equation of state are significantly altered by the folding. Cabbeling tends to decelerate the flow in the folded loop, instead of accelerating it as in the circular case, and can also act to dampen velocity oscillations. Thermobaricity also alters the loop circulation, although comparatively less.
Abstract
Numerous numerical simulations of basin-scale ocean circulation display a vast interior downwelling and a companion intense western boundary layer upwelling at midlatitude below the thermocline. These features, related to the so-called Veronis effect, are poorly rationalized and depart strongly from the classical vision of the deep circulation where upwelling is considered to occur in the interior. Furthermore, they significantly alter results of ocean general circulation models (OGCMs) using horizontal Laplacian diffusion. Recently, some studies showed that the parameterization for mesoscale eddy effects formulated by Gent and McWilliams allows integral quantities like the streamfunction and meridional heat transport to be free of these undesired effects. In this paper, an idealized OGCM is used to validate an analytical rationalization of the processes at work and help understand the physics.
The results show that the features associated with the Veronis effect can be related quantitatively to three different width scales that characterize the baroclinic structure of the deep western boundary current. In addition, since one of these scales may be smaller than the Munk barotropic layer, usually considered to determine the minimum resolution and horizontal viscosity for numerical models, the authors recommend that it be taken into account. Regarding the introduction of the new parameterization, diagnostics in terms of heat balances underline some interesting similarities between local heat fluxes by eddy-induced velocities and horizontal diffusion at low and midlatitudes when a common large diffusivity (here 2000 m2 s−1) is used. The near-quasigeostrophic character of the flow explains these results. As a consequence, the response of the Eulerian-mean circulation is locally similar for runs using either of the two parameterizations. However, it is shown that the advective nature of the eddy-induced heat fluxes results in a very different effective circulation, which is the one felt by tracers.
Abstract
Numerous numerical simulations of basin-scale ocean circulation display a vast interior downwelling and a companion intense western boundary layer upwelling at midlatitude below the thermocline. These features, related to the so-called Veronis effect, are poorly rationalized and depart strongly from the classical vision of the deep circulation where upwelling is considered to occur in the interior. Furthermore, they significantly alter results of ocean general circulation models (OGCMs) using horizontal Laplacian diffusion. Recently, some studies showed that the parameterization for mesoscale eddy effects formulated by Gent and McWilliams allows integral quantities like the streamfunction and meridional heat transport to be free of these undesired effects. In this paper, an idealized OGCM is used to validate an analytical rationalization of the processes at work and help understand the physics.
The results show that the features associated with the Veronis effect can be related quantitatively to three different width scales that characterize the baroclinic structure of the deep western boundary current. In addition, since one of these scales may be smaller than the Munk barotropic layer, usually considered to determine the minimum resolution and horizontal viscosity for numerical models, the authors recommend that it be taken into account. Regarding the introduction of the new parameterization, diagnostics in terms of heat balances underline some interesting similarities between local heat fluxes by eddy-induced velocities and horizontal diffusion at low and midlatitudes when a common large diffusivity (here 2000 m2 s−1) is used. The near-quasigeostrophic character of the flow explains these results. As a consequence, the response of the Eulerian-mean circulation is locally similar for runs using either of the two parameterizations. However, it is shown that the advective nature of the eddy-induced heat fluxes results in a very different effective circulation, which is the one felt by tracers.
Abstract
There is a growing realization that the nonlinear nature of the equation of state has a deep impact on the global ocean circulation; however, the understanding of the global effects of these nonlinearities remains elusive. This is partly because of the complicated formulation of the seawater equation of state making it difficult to handle in theoretical studies. In this paper, a hierarchy of polynomial equations of state of increasing complexity, optimal in a least squares sense, is presented. These different simplified equations of state are then used to simulate the ocean circulation in a global 2°-resolution configuration. Comparisons between simulated ocean circulations confirm that nonlinear effects are of major importance, in particular influencing the circulation through determination of the static stability below the mixed layer, thus controlling rates of exchange between the atmosphere and the ocean interior. It is found that a simple polynomial equation of state, with a quadratic term in temperature (for cabbeling), a temperature–pressure product term (for thermobaricity), and a linear term in salinity, that is, only four tuning parameters, is enough to simulate a reasonably realistic global circulation. The best simulation is obtained when the simplified equation of state is forced to have an accurate thermal expansion coefficient near the freezing point, highlighting the importance of polar regions for the global stratification. It is argued that this simplified equation of state will be of great value for theoretical studies and pedagogical purposes.
Abstract
There is a growing realization that the nonlinear nature of the equation of state has a deep impact on the global ocean circulation; however, the understanding of the global effects of these nonlinearities remains elusive. This is partly because of the complicated formulation of the seawater equation of state making it difficult to handle in theoretical studies. In this paper, a hierarchy of polynomial equations of state of increasing complexity, optimal in a least squares sense, is presented. These different simplified equations of state are then used to simulate the ocean circulation in a global 2°-resolution configuration. Comparisons between simulated ocean circulations confirm that nonlinear effects are of major importance, in particular influencing the circulation through determination of the static stability below the mixed layer, thus controlling rates of exchange between the atmosphere and the ocean interior. It is found that a simple polynomial equation of state, with a quadratic term in temperature (for cabbeling), a temperature–pressure product term (for thermobaricity), and a linear term in salinity, that is, only four tuning parameters, is enough to simulate a reasonably realistic global circulation. The best simulation is obtained when the simplified equation of state is forced to have an accurate thermal expansion coefficient near the freezing point, highlighting the importance of polar regions for the global stratification. It is argued that this simplified equation of state will be of great value for theoretical studies and pedagogical purposes.
Abstract
The large-scale processes preconditioning the winter deep-water formation in the northwestern Mediterranean Sea are investigated with a primitive equation numerical model where convection is parameterized by a non-penetrative convective adjustment algorithm. The ocean is forced by momentum and buoyancy fluxes that have the gross features of mean winter forcing found in the MEDOC area. The wind-driven barotropic circulation appears to be a major ingredient of the preconditioning phase of deep-water formation. After three months, the ocean response is dominated by a strong barotropic cyclonic vortex located under the forcing area, which fits the Sverdrup balance away from the northern coast. In the vortex center, the whole water column remains trapped under the forcing area all winter. This trapping enables the thermohaline forcing to drive deep-water formation efficiently. Sensitivity studies show that, β effect and bottom topography play a paramount role and confirm that deep convection occurs only in areas that combine a strong surface thermohaline forcing and a weak barotropic advection so that water masses are submitted to the negative buoyancy fluxes for a much longer time. In particular, the impact of the Rhône Deep Sea Fan on the barotropic circulation dominates the β effect: the barotropic flow is constrained to follow the bathymetric contours and the cyclonic vortex is shifted southward so that the fluid above the fan remains quiescent. Hence, buoyancy fluxes trigger deep convection above the fan in agreement with observations. The selection of the area of deep-water formation through the defection of the barotropic circulation by the topography seems a more efficient mechanism than those associated with the wind- driven barotropic vortex. This is due to its permanency, while the latter may be too sensitive to time and space variations of the forcing.
Abstract
The large-scale processes preconditioning the winter deep-water formation in the northwestern Mediterranean Sea are investigated with a primitive equation numerical model where convection is parameterized by a non-penetrative convective adjustment algorithm. The ocean is forced by momentum and buoyancy fluxes that have the gross features of mean winter forcing found in the MEDOC area. The wind-driven barotropic circulation appears to be a major ingredient of the preconditioning phase of deep-water formation. After three months, the ocean response is dominated by a strong barotropic cyclonic vortex located under the forcing area, which fits the Sverdrup balance away from the northern coast. In the vortex center, the whole water column remains trapped under the forcing area all winter. This trapping enables the thermohaline forcing to drive deep-water formation efficiently. Sensitivity studies show that, β effect and bottom topography play a paramount role and confirm that deep convection occurs only in areas that combine a strong surface thermohaline forcing and a weak barotropic advection so that water masses are submitted to the negative buoyancy fluxes for a much longer time. In particular, the impact of the Rhône Deep Sea Fan on the barotropic circulation dominates the β effect: the barotropic flow is constrained to follow the bathymetric contours and the cyclonic vortex is shifted southward so that the fluid above the fan remains quiescent. Hence, buoyancy fluxes trigger deep convection above the fan in agreement with observations. The selection of the area of deep-water formation through the defection of the barotropic circulation by the topography seems a more efficient mechanism than those associated with the wind- driven barotropic vortex. This is due to its permanency, while the latter may be too sensitive to time and space variations of the forcing.
Abstract
The stratification is primarily controlled by temperature in subtropical regions (alpha ocean) and by salinity in subpolar regions (beta ocean). Between these two regions lies a transition zone, often characterized by deep mixed layers in winter and responsible for the ventilation of intermediate or deep layers. While of primary interest, no consensus on what controls its position exists yet. Among the potential candidates, we find the wind distribution, air–sea fluxes, or the nonlinear cabbeling effect. Using an ocean general circulation model in an idealized basin configuration, a sensitivity analysis is performed testing different equations of state. More precisely, the thermal expansion coefficient (TEC) temperature dependence is explored, changing the impact of heat fluxes on buoyancy fluxes in a series of experiments. The polar transition zone is found to be located at the position where the sign of the surface buoyancy flux reverses to become positive, in the subpolar region, while wind or cabbeling are likely of secondary importance. This inversion becomes possible because the TEC is reducing at low temperature, enhancing in return the relative impact of freshwater fluxes on the buoyancy forcing at high latitudes. When the TEC is made artificially larger at low temperature, the freshwater flux required to produce a positive buoyancy flux increases and the polar transition moves poleward. These experimets demonstrate the important role of competing heat and freshwater fluxes in setting the position of the transition zone. This competition is primarily influenced by the spatial variations of the TEC linked to meridional variations of the surface temperature.
Abstract
The stratification is primarily controlled by temperature in subtropical regions (alpha ocean) and by salinity in subpolar regions (beta ocean). Between these two regions lies a transition zone, often characterized by deep mixed layers in winter and responsible for the ventilation of intermediate or deep layers. While of primary interest, no consensus on what controls its position exists yet. Among the potential candidates, we find the wind distribution, air–sea fluxes, or the nonlinear cabbeling effect. Using an ocean general circulation model in an idealized basin configuration, a sensitivity analysis is performed testing different equations of state. More precisely, the thermal expansion coefficient (TEC) temperature dependence is explored, changing the impact of heat fluxes on buoyancy fluxes in a series of experiments. The polar transition zone is found to be located at the position where the sign of the surface buoyancy flux reverses to become positive, in the subpolar region, while wind or cabbeling are likely of secondary importance. This inversion becomes possible because the TEC is reducing at low temperature, enhancing in return the relative impact of freshwater fluxes on the buoyancy forcing at high latitudes. When the TEC is made artificially larger at low temperature, the freshwater flux required to produce a positive buoyancy flux increases and the polar transition moves poleward. These experimets demonstrate the important role of competing heat and freshwater fluxes in setting the position of the transition zone. This competition is primarily influenced by the spatial variations of the TEC linked to meridional variations of the surface temperature.
Abstract
Deep-water formation (DWF) in the northwestern Mediterranean Sea and the subsequent horizontal circulation are investigated in a rectangular basin with a three-dimensional primitive equation model. The basin is forced by constant climatological heat and salt fluxes. Convective motion is parameterized by a simple nonpenetrative convective adjustment process plus Richardson number–dependent vertical eddy viscosity and diffusivity. A homogeneous column of dense water is progressively formed in the forcing area. Meanders of 40-km wavelength develop at the periphery of the column. These features agree with observations. Energy studies show that the meanders are generated mainly through a baroclinic instability process. These meanders, and the associated cells of vertical motion, contribute to the process of DWF. They generate vertical advection, while the associated horizontal advection tends to restratify the surface water of the column, and thus to inhibit very deep convection. Just before the end of the forcing period, 80-km meanders appear, which create advection strong enough to erase the column within two weeks. The associated horizontal cyclonic circulation is of the same order of magnitude as that estimated from observations.
Abstract
Deep-water formation (DWF) in the northwestern Mediterranean Sea and the subsequent horizontal circulation are investigated in a rectangular basin with a three-dimensional primitive equation model. The basin is forced by constant climatological heat and salt fluxes. Convective motion is parameterized by a simple nonpenetrative convective adjustment process plus Richardson number–dependent vertical eddy viscosity and diffusivity. A homogeneous column of dense water is progressively formed in the forcing area. Meanders of 40-km wavelength develop at the periphery of the column. These features agree with observations. Energy studies show that the meanders are generated mainly through a baroclinic instability process. These meanders, and the associated cells of vertical motion, contribute to the process of DWF. They generate vertical advection, while the associated horizontal advection tends to restratify the surface water of the column, and thus to inhibit very deep convection. Just before the end of the forcing period, 80-km meanders appear, which create advection strong enough to erase the column within two weeks. The associated horizontal cyclonic circulation is of the same order of magnitude as that estimated from observations.
Abstract
Despite the renewed interest in the Southern Ocean, there are yet many unknowns because of the scarcity of measurements and the complexity of the thermohaline circulation. Hence the authors present here the analysis of the thermohaline circulation of the Southern Ocean of a steady-state simulation of a coupled ice–ocean model. The study aims to clarify the roles of surface fluxes and internal mixing, with focus on the mechanisms of the upper branch of the overturning. A quantitative dynamical analysis of the water-mass transformation has been performed using a new method. Surface fluxes, including the effect of the penetrative solar radiation, produce almost 40 Sv (1 Sv ≡ 106 m3 s−1) of Subantarctic Mode Water while about 5 Sv of the densest water masses (γ > 28.2) are formed by brine rejection on the shelves of Antarctica and in the Weddell Sea. Mixing transforms one-half of the Subantarctic Mode Water into intermediate water and Upper Circumpolar Deep Water while bottom water is produced by Lower Circumpolar Deep Water and North Atlantic Deep Water mixing with shelf water. The upwelling of part of the North Atlantic Deep Water inflow is due to internal processes, mainly downward propagation of the surface freshwater excess via vertical mixing at the base of the mixed layer. A complementary Lagrangian analysis of the thermohaline circulation will be presented in a companion paper.
Abstract
Despite the renewed interest in the Southern Ocean, there are yet many unknowns because of the scarcity of measurements and the complexity of the thermohaline circulation. Hence the authors present here the analysis of the thermohaline circulation of the Southern Ocean of a steady-state simulation of a coupled ice–ocean model. The study aims to clarify the roles of surface fluxes and internal mixing, with focus on the mechanisms of the upper branch of the overturning. A quantitative dynamical analysis of the water-mass transformation has been performed using a new method. Surface fluxes, including the effect of the penetrative solar radiation, produce almost 40 Sv (1 Sv ≡ 106 m3 s−1) of Subantarctic Mode Water while about 5 Sv of the densest water masses (γ > 28.2) are formed by brine rejection on the shelves of Antarctica and in the Weddell Sea. Mixing transforms one-half of the Subantarctic Mode Water into intermediate water and Upper Circumpolar Deep Water while bottom water is produced by Lower Circumpolar Deep Water and North Atlantic Deep Water mixing with shelf water. The upwelling of part of the North Atlantic Deep Water inflow is due to internal processes, mainly downward propagation of the surface freshwater excess via vertical mixing at the base of the mixed layer. A complementary Lagrangian analysis of the thermohaline circulation will be presented in a companion paper.
Abstract
Antarctic Intermediate Water (AAIW) occupies the intermediate horizon of most of the world oceans. Formed in the Southern Ocean, it is characterized by a relative salinity minimum. With a new, denser in situ National Oceanographic Data Center dataset, the authors have reanalyzed the export characteristics of AAIW from the Southern Ocean into the South Pacific Ocean. These new data show that part of the AAIW is exported from the subpolar frontal region by the large-scale circulation through an exchange window of 10° width situated east of 90°W in the southeast corner of the Pacific basin. This suggests the origin of this water to be in the Antarctic Circumpolar Current. A set of numerical modeling experiments has been used to reproduce these observed features and to demonstrate that the dynamics of the exchange window is controlled by the basin-scale meridional pressure gradient. The exchange of AAIW between the Southern and Pacific Oceans must therefore be understood in the context of the large basin-scale dynamical balance rather than simply local effects.
Abstract
Antarctic Intermediate Water (AAIW) occupies the intermediate horizon of most of the world oceans. Formed in the Southern Ocean, it is characterized by a relative salinity minimum. With a new, denser in situ National Oceanographic Data Center dataset, the authors have reanalyzed the export characteristics of AAIW from the Southern Ocean into the South Pacific Ocean. These new data show that part of the AAIW is exported from the subpolar frontal region by the large-scale circulation through an exchange window of 10° width situated east of 90°W in the southeast corner of the Pacific basin. This suggests the origin of this water to be in the Antarctic Circumpolar Current. A set of numerical modeling experiments has been used to reproduce these observed features and to demonstrate that the dynamics of the exchange window is controlled by the basin-scale meridional pressure gradient. The exchange of AAIW between the Southern and Pacific Oceans must therefore be understood in the context of the large basin-scale dynamical balance rather than simply local effects.
