On the use of the Galerkin method for 3D numerical modelling of the general circulation: the South Atlantic eperiment

2002 ◽  
Vol 38 (9) ◽  
pp. 881-893
Author(s):  
Joseph Harari ◽  
Emanuel Giarolla
Keyword(s):  
Numerical Modelling ◽  
Galerkin Method ◽  
General Circulation ◽  
South Atlantic ◽  
The South ◽  
3D Numerical Modelling ◽  
The Galerkin Method

scholarly journals Revisiting remote drivers of the 2014 drought in South-Eastern Brazil

2020 ◽  
Vol 55 (11-12) ◽  
pp. 3197-3211
Author(s):  
Kathrin Finke ◽  
Bernat Jiménez-Esteve ◽  
Andréa S. Taschetto ◽  
Caroline C. Ummenhofer ◽  
Karl Bumke ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Indian Ocean ◽  
General Circulation ◽  
Circulation Model ◽  
Tropical Pacific ◽  
South Atlantic ◽  
The South ◽  
South Eastern ◽  
Eastern Brazil ◽  
The Indian Ocean ◽  
Sst Anomalies

Abstract South-Eastern Brazil experienced a devastating drought associated with significant agricultural losses in austral summer 2014. The drought was linked to the development of a quasi-stationary anticyclone in the South Atlantic in early 2014 that affected local precipitation patterns over South-East Brazil. Previous studies have suggested that the unusual blocking was triggered by tropical Pacific sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies and, more recently, by convection over the Indian Ocean related to the Madden–Julian Oscillation. Further investigation of the proposed teleconnections appears crucial for anticipating future economic impacts. In this study, we use numerical experiments with an idealized atmospheric general circulation model forced with the observed 2013/2014 SST anomalies in different ocean basins to understand the dominant mechanism that initiated the 2014 South Atlantic anticyclonic anomaly. We show that a forcing with global 2013/2014 SST anomalies enhances the chance for the occurrence of positive geopotential height anomalies in the South Atlantic. However, further sensitivity experiments with SST forcings in separate ocean basins suggest that neither the Indian Ocean nor tropical Pacific SST anomalies alone have contributed significantly to the anomalous atmospheric circulation that led to the 2014 South-East Brazil drought. The model study rather points to an important role of remote forcing from the South Pacific, local South Atlantic SSTs, and internal atmospheric variability in driving the persistent blocking over the South Atlantic.

scholarly journals Lagrangian Drifter Dispersion in the Southwestern Atlantic Ocean

2011 ◽  
Vol 41 (9) ◽  
pp. 1659-1672 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefano Berti ◽  
Francisco Alves Dos Santos ◽  
Guglielmo Lacorata ◽  
Angelo Vulpiani
Keyword(s):  
Atlantic Ocean ◽  
General Circulation ◽  
Time Lag ◽  
Circulation Model ◽  
South Atlantic ◽  
Relative Dispersion ◽  
Mean Square ◽  
The South ◽  
Southwestern Atlantic Ocean ◽  
Wide Range

Abstract In the framework of Monitoring by Ocean Drifters (MONDO) project, a set of Lagrangian drifters were released in proximity of the Brazil Current, the western branch of the subtropical gyre in the South Atlantic Ocean. The experimental strategy of deploying part of the buoys in clusters offers the opportunity to examine relative dispersion on a wide range of scales. Adopting a dynamical systems approach, the authors focus their attention on scale-dependent indicators, like the finite-scale Lyapunov exponent (FSLE) and the finite-scale (mean square) relative velocity (FSRV) between two drifters as a function of their separation and compare them with classic time-dependent statistical quantities like the mean-square relative displacement between two drifters and the effective diffusivity as functions of the time lag from the release. The authors find that, dependently on the given observable, the quasigeostrophic turbulence scenario is overall compatible with their data analysis, with discrepancies from the expected behavior of 2D turbulent trajectories likely to be ascribed to the nonstationary and nonhomogeneous characteristics of the flow, as well as to possible ageostrophic effects. Submesoscale features of ~O(1) km are considered to play a role, to some extent, in determining the properties of relative dispersion as well as the shape of the energy spectrum. The authors also present numerical simulations of an ocean general circulation model (OGCM) of the South Atlantic and discuss the comparison between experimental and model data about mesoscale dispersion.

scholarly journals Relationships between South Atlantic SST Variability and Atmospheric Circulation over the South African Region during Austral Winter

2005 ◽  
Vol 18 (16) ◽  
pp. 3339-3355 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. J. C. Reason ◽  
D. Jagadheesha
Keyword(s):  
Interannual Variability ◽  
General Circulation ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Rainfall Variability ◽  
Circulation Model ◽  
South Atlantic ◽  
The South ◽  
Winter Rainfall ◽  
Southwest Atlantic ◽  
Sst Anomalies

Abstract The Southwestern Cape (SWC) region of South Africa is characterized by winter rainfall brought mainly via cold fronts and by substantial interannual variability. Previous work has found evidence that the interannual variability in SWC winter rainfall may be related to sea surface temperature (SST) in the South Atlantic Ocean and to large-scale ocean–atmosphere interaction in this region. During wet winters, SST tends to be anomalously warm (cool) in the southwest Atlantic and southeast Atlantic (central South Atlantic). Atmospheric general circulation model experiments with various idealized SST anomalies in the South Atlantic are used to explore mechanisms potentially associated with the rainfall variability. The model results suggest that the atmosphere is sensitive to subtropical–midlatitude SST anomalies in the South Atlantic during winter. Locally, there are changes to the jet position and strength, low-level relative vorticity, and convergence of moisture and latent heat flux that lead to changes in rainfall over the SWC. The model response to the SST forcing also shows large-scale anomalies in the midlatitude Southern Hemisphere circulation, namely, an Antarctic Oscillation–type mode and wavenumber-3 changes, similar to those observed during anomalous winters in the region.

Reproducibility of South American Precipitation due to Subtropical South Atlantic SSTs

2008 ◽  
Vol 21 (12) ◽  
pp. 2835-2851 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andréa S. Taschetto ◽  
Ilana Wainer
Keyword(s):  
General Circulation ◽  
Climate Model ◽  
Function Analysis ◽  
Regional Climate ◽  
Circulation Model ◽  
Internal Variability ◽  
South Atlantic ◽  
The South ◽  
Potential Predictability ◽  
The Impact

Abstract This work investigates the reproducibility of precipitation simulated with an atmospheric general circulation model (AGCM) forced by subtropical South Atlantic sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies. This represents an important test of the model prior to investigating the impact of SSTs on regional climate. A five-member ensemble run was performed using the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) Community Climate Model, version 3 (CCM3). The CCM3 was forced by observed monthly SST over the South Atlantic from 20° to 60°S. The SST dataset used is from the Hadley Centre covering the period of September 1949–October 2001; this covers more than 50 yr of simulation. A statistical technique is used to determine the reproducibility in the CCM3 runs and to assess potential predictability in precipitation. Empirical orthogonal function analysis is used to reconstruct the ensemble using the most reproducible forced modes in order to separate the atmospheric response to local SST forcing from its internal variability. Results for reproducibility show a seasonal dependence, with higher values during austral autumn and spring. The spatial distribution of reproducibility shows that the tropical atmosphere is dominated by the underlying SSTs while variations in the subtropical–extratropical regions are primarily driven by internal variability. As such, changes in the South Atlantic convergence zone (SACZ) region are mainly dominated by internal atmospheric variability while the ITCZ has greater external dependence, making it more predictable. The reproducibility distribution reveals increased values after the reconstruction of the ensemble.

scholarly journals Análise Climatológica das trajetórias de Ciclones Extratropicais formados na região da Península Antártica

2020 ◽  
Vol 42 ◽  
pp. e12
Author(s):  
Mariana Monteiro dos Santos Gandra ◽  
Mário Francisco Leal de Quadro
Keyword(s):  
General Circulation ◽  
South Atlantic ◽  
Observation System ◽  
Extratropical Cyclones ◽  
The South ◽  
Meridional Transport ◽  
Sea Level Pressure ◽  
Sea Temperature ◽  
The Antarctic

Cyclones play an important role in the general circulation of the atmosphere, enabling the meridional transport of excess heat, humidity and momentum from low latitudes to high latitudes. In the Southern Hemisphere, the area between southern Brazil and the Peninsula Antarctica (AP) is described as one of the most favorable for the formation of cyclones (30°S to 70°S) due to the existence of strong temperature gradient between the ocean and the surface air layer above the ocean and also because of pre-existing baroclinic instabilities. This study is associated with the Project ATMOS  (AnTarctic Modeling Observation System) and explored the role of extratropical cyclones in teleconnections between high and medium latitudes to track the trajectories of extratropical cyclones that are formed in the Antarctic Peninsula (AP) and move towards the central sector of the South Atlantic. The analysis of the tracked trajectories showed that the cyclones reached the central sector of the South Atlantic during the months of autumn (greater number) and winter (greater displacement), while the statistical analysis indicated that the intensity of the cyclones is more linearly linked to the mean sea level pressure field than to Superficial Sea Temperature Anomalies.

scholarly journals Coupled Ocean–Atmosphere Variations over the South Atlantic Ocean

2012 ◽  
Vol 25 (18) ◽  
pp. 6349-6358 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paulo Nobre ◽  
Roberto A. De Almeida ◽  
Marta Malagutti ◽  
Emanuel Giarolla
Keyword(s):  
Atlantic Ocean ◽  
Atmospheric Circulation ◽  
General Circulation Model ◽  
General Circulation ◽  
Circulation Model ◽  
South Atlantic ◽  
Convergence Zone ◽  
Tropical Atlantic ◽  
The South ◽  
Ocean Atmosphere

Abstract The impact of ocean–atmosphere interactions on summer rainfall over the South Atlantic Ocean is explored through the use of coupled ocean–atmosphere models. The Brazilian Center for Weather Forecast and Climate Studies (CPTEC) coupled ocean–atmosphere general circulation model (CGCM) and its atmospheric general circulation model (AGCM) are used to gauge the role of coupled modes of variability of the climate system over the South Atlantic at seasonal time scales. Twenty-six years of summer [December–February (DJF)] simulations were done with the CGCM in ensemble mode and the AGCM forced with both observed sea surface temperature (SST) and SST generated by the CGCM forecasts to investigate the dynamics/thermodynamics of the two major convergence zones in the tropical Atlantic: the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) and the South Atlantic convergence zone (SACZ). The results present both numerical model and observational evidence supporting the hypothesis that the ITCZ is a thermally direct, SST-driven atmospheric circulation, while the SACZ is a thermally indirect atmospheric circulation controlling SST variability underneath—a consequence of ocean–atmosphere interactions not captured by the atmospheric model forced by prescribed ocean temperatures. Six CGCM model results of the Ensemble-based Predictions of Climate Changes and their Impacts (ENSEMBLES) project, NCEP–NCAR reanalysis data, and oceanic and atmospheric data from buoys of the Prediction and Research Moored Array in the Tropical Atlantic (PIRATA) Project over the tropical Atlantic are used to validate CPTEC’s coupled and uncoupled model simulations.

Ocean Model Diagnosis of Low-Frequency Climate Variability in the South Atlantic Region

2007 ◽  
Vol 20 (6) ◽  
pp. 1016-1034 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frank Colberg ◽  
C. J. C. Reason
Keyword(s):  
Mixed Layer ◽  
General Circulation ◽  
Vertical Mixing ◽  
Central Area ◽  
Volume Transport ◽  
South Atlantic ◽  
The South ◽  
Temperature Changes ◽  
Horizontal Advection ◽  
Decadal Scale

Abstract South Atlantic Ocean variability is investigated by means of an ocean general circulation model (ORCA2), forced with the NCEP–NCAR reanalyses for the 1948–99 period. A rotated EOF analysis of the mixed layer temperature suggests a breakdown of the South Atlantic into the following four subdomains, with characteristic spatial and temporal scales: (a) the tropical Atlantic, with mainly interannual fluctuations; (b) the northeastern subtropics, with variability on an interannual to decadal scale; (c) the midlatitudes, with interannual and multidecadal variability; and (d) the southwestern subtropics/midlatitudes with a mixture of interannual and decadal variability. These modes are closely connected to anomalous atmospheric circulation patterns, which induce typical forcing mechanisms for each region. Temperature changes in the western to central Tropics are found to be driven by changes in surface heat fluxes and the horizontal advection of heat, while in the central to eastern Tropics and the northern Benguela region temperature changes are connected to reduced vertical entrainment, altering the depth of the mixed layer and leading to reduced upwelling. In the western and eastern subtropics, changes in the net surface fluxes drive the upper-ocean temperature anomalies, and wind-induced vertical mixing dissipates them, inducing changes in the depth of the mixed layer. Anomalous heat and volume transports are found to be related to anomalous Ekman and geostrophic currents in the eastern subtropics. A wind-driven mechanism is suggested, whereby changes in Ekman-related heat and volume transport lead to modulations of the subtropical gyre and thus to changes in the geostrophic-related heat and volume transport. Temporal variability in the midlatitudes is mainly due to horizontal advection and wind-induced vertical mixing, whereby geostrophic advection of heat dominates in the western to central area, and Ekman-induced heat transports are confined to the eastern midlatitudes.

scholarly journals On the Growth and Decay of the Subtropical Dipole Mode in the South Atlantic

2011 ◽  
Vol 24 (21) ◽  
pp. 5538-5554 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yushi Morioka ◽  
Tomoki Tozuka ◽  
Toshio Yamagata
Keyword(s):  
Heat Flux ◽  
Latent Heat ◽  
Latent Heat Flux ◽  
Mixed Layer ◽  
General Circulation ◽  
Mixed Layer Depth ◽  
South Atlantic ◽  
The South ◽  
Layer Depth ◽  
Negative Pole

Abstract Using observational data and outputs from an ocean general circulation model, the growth and decay of the South Atlantic subtropical dipole (SASD) are studied. The SASD is the most dominant mode of interannual variability in the South Atlantic Ocean, and its sea surface temperature (SST) anomaly shows a dipole pattern that is oriented in the northeast–southwest direction. The positive (negative) pole develops because the warming of the mixed layer by the contribution from the climatological shortwave radiation is enhanced (suppressed) when the mixed layer is thinner (thicker) than normal. The mixed layer depth anomaly over the positive (negative) pole is due to the suppressed (enhanced) latent heat flux loss associated with the southward migration and strengthening of the subtropical high. During the decay phase, since the temperature difference between the mixed layer and the entrained water becomes anomalously large (small) as a result of the positive (negative) mixed layer temperature anomaly, the cooling of the mixed layer by the entrainment is enhanced (reduced). In addition, the cooling of the mixed layer by the contribution from the climatological latent heat flux is enhanced (suppressed) by the same thinner (thicker) mixed layer. This paper demonstrates the importance of taking into account the interannual variations of the mixed layer depth in discussing the growth and decay of SST anomalies associated with the SASD.

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