Comparison of vertical mixing schemes embedded in a global ocean GCM. Part II: Large scale circulation and water mass formation

1996 ◽  
Vol 58 (1-4) ◽  
pp. 51-63 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. J. C. Reason
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Water Mass ◽  
Vertical Mixing ◽  
Global Ocean ◽  
Large Scale Circulation ◽  
Water Mass Formation ◽  
Mixing Schemes ◽  
Mass Formation

scholarly journals Mediterranean Sea large-scale low-frequency ocean variability and water mass formation rates from 1987 to 2007: A retrospective analysis

2015 ◽  
Vol 132 ◽  
pp. 318-332 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nadia Pinardi ◽  
Marco Zavatarelli ◽  
Mario Adani ◽  
Giovanni Coppini ◽  
Claudia Fratianni ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Retrospective Analysis ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Water Mass ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Ocean Variability ◽  
Water Mass Formation ◽  
Mass Formation

scholarly journals Abyssal Circulation Driven by Near-Boundary Mixing: Water Mass Transformations and Interior Stratification

2020 ◽  
Vol 50 (8) ◽  
pp. 2203-2226
Author(s):  
Henri F. Drake ◽  
Raffaele Ferrari ◽  
Jörn Callies
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Water Mass ◽  
Circulation Model ◽  
Global Ocean ◽  
Boundary Mixing ◽  
Downslope Flows ◽  
Abyssal Circulation ◽  
Midocean Ridge ◽  
Water Mass Transformations

AbstractThe emerging view of the abyssal circulation is that it is associated with bottom-enhanced mixing, which results in downwelling in the stratified ocean interior and upwelling in a bottom boundary layer along the insulating and sloping seafloor. In the limit of slowly varying vertical stratification and topography, however, boundary layer theory predicts that these upslope and downslope flows largely compensate, such that net water mass transformations along the slope are vanishingly small. Using a planetary geostrophic circulation model that resolves both the boundary layer dynamics and the large-scale overturning in an idealized basin with bottom-enhanced mixing along a midocean ridge, we show that vertical variations in stratification become sufficiently large at equilibrium to reduce the degree of compensation along the midocean ridge flanks. The resulting large net transformations are similar to estimates for the abyssal ocean and span the vertical extent of the ridge. These results suggest that boundary flows generated by mixing play a crucial role in setting the global ocean stratification and overturning circulation, requiring a revision of abyssal ocean theories.

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