Simulation of the planktonic ecosystem response to pre- and post-1976 forcing in an isopycnic model of the North Pacific

2001 ◽  
Vol 58 (4) ◽  
pp. 703-722 ◽  
Author(s):  
S P Haigh ◽  
K L Denman ◽  
W W Hsieh
Keyword(s):  
Mixed Layer ◽  
North Pacific ◽  
General Circulation ◽  
Current System ◽  
Mixed Layer Depth ◽  
Circulation Model ◽  
Ecosystem Model ◽  
Ocean General Circulation Model ◽  
Export Production ◽  
Ocean Station Papa

To investigate the hypothesis that the 1976 "regime shift" in North Pacific fish populations resulted from climatic change propagating up the fisheries food web, we have embedded a four-component planktonic ecosystem model in an ocean general circulation model. The Miami isopycnic model (MICOM) has been implemented on a 2° grid over the domain from 18°S to 61°N, with a Kraus–Turner-type mixed layer model overlaying 10 isopycnal layers. An initial baseline run with forcing for the period 1952–1988 reasonably reproduces the spatial patterns and seasonal changes in SeaWiFS images. Estimates of annual net and export production compare well with contemporary observations of primary and export production at Ocean Station Papa in the subarctic North Pacific but are low by a factor of 8–10 at station ALOHA near Hawaii. Two subsequent runs with forcing for the periods 1952–1975 and 1977–1988 show the main gyres to strengthen after 1976 with large areas of increased mixed layer depth. In the light-limited subarctic, limited areas of shallower spring mixed layer produced increased phytoplankton biomass, whereas in the nutrient-limited subtropical gyre, increased nutrients (or migration of the subarctic front and the equatorial current system into the gyre) after 1976 correlated with increased plankton biomass.

The Vertical Structure of Eddy Heat Transport Simulated by an Eddy-Resolving OGCM

2010 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 340-353 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bo Young Yim ◽  
Yign Noh ◽  
Bo Qiu ◽  
Sung Hyup You ◽  
Jong Hwan Yoon
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transport ◽  
Mixed Layer ◽  
General Circulation ◽  
Vertical Structure ◽  
Mixed Layer Depth ◽  
Circulation Model ◽  
Ocean General Circulation Model ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Variation ◽  
Observation Data ◽  
Eddy Heat Transport

Abstract The vertical structure of meridional eddy heat transport (EHT) of the North Pacific was investigated by analyzing the results from an eddy-resolving ocean general circulation model (OGCM) with a horizontal resolution of , while comparing with previous simulation results and observation data. In particular, the spatial and temporal variation of the effective depth of EHT He was investigated, which is defined by the depth integrated EHT (D-EHT) divided by EHT at the surface. It was found that the annual mean value of He is proportional to the eddy kinetic energy (EKE) level at the surface in general. However, its seasonal variation is controlled by the mixed layer depth (MLD) in the extratropical ocean (>20°N). Examination of the simulated eddy structures reveals that the temperature associated with mesoscale eddies is radically modified by the surface forcing in the mixed layer, while the velocity field is not, and the consequent enhanced misalignment of temperature and velocity anomalies leads to the radical change of EHT across the seasonal thermocline.

scholarly journals Numerical investigation of the Arctic ice–ocean boundary layer and implications for air–sea gas fluxes

Ocean Science ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-75 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arash Bigdeli ◽  
Brice Loose ◽  
An T. Nguyen ◽  
Sylvia T. Cole
Keyword(s):  
Gas Exchange ◽  
Sea Ice ◽  
Mixed Layer ◽  
General Circulation ◽  
Mixed Layer Depth ◽  
Circulation Model ◽  
Horizontal Resolution ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Massachusetts Institute Of Technology ◽  
Institute Of Technology

Abstract. In ice-covered regions it is challenging to determine constituent budgets – for heat and momentum, but also for biologically and climatically active gases like carbon dioxide and methane. The harsh environment and relative data scarcity make it difficult to characterize even the physical properties of the ocean surface. Here, we sought to evaluate if numerical model output helps us to better estimate the physical forcing that drives the air–sea gas exchange rate (k) in sea ice zones. We used the budget of radioactive 222Rn in the mixed layer to illustrate the effect that sea ice forcing has on gas budgets and air–sea gas exchange. Appropriate constraint of the 222Rn budget requires estimates of sea ice velocity, concentration, mixed-layer depth, and water velocities, as well as their evolution in time and space along the Lagrangian drift track of a mixed-layer water parcel. We used 36, 9 and 2 km horizontal resolution of regional Massachusetts Institute of Technology general circulation model (MITgcm) configuration with fine vertical spacing to evaluate the capability of the model to reproduce these parameters. We then compared the model results to existing field data including satellite, moorings and ice-tethered profilers. We found that mode sea ice coverage agrees with satellite-derived observation 88 to 98 % of the time when averaged over the Beaufort Gyre, and model sea ice speeds have 82 % correlation with observations. The model demonstrated the capacity to capture the broad trends in the mixed layer, although with a significant bias. Model water velocities showed only 29 % correlation with point-wise in situ data. This correlation remained low in all three model resolution simulations and we argued that is largely due to the quality of the input atmospheric forcing. Overall, we found that even the coarse-resolution model can make a modest contribution to gas exchange parameterization, by resolving the time variation of parameters that drive the 222Rn budget, including rate of mixed-layer change and sea ice forcings.

scholarly journals Tropical Atlantic Mixed Layer Buoyancy Seasonality: Atmospheric and Oceanic Physical Processes Contributions

Atmosphere ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 649
Author(s):  
Ibrahima Camara ◽  
Juliette Mignot ◽  
Nicolas Kolodziejczyk ◽  
Teresa Losada ◽  
Alban Lazar
Keyword(s):  
Heat Flux ◽  
Mixed Layer ◽  
General Circulation ◽  
Circulation Model ◽  
Ocean General Circulation Model ◽  
Brazilian Coast ◽  
Freshwater Flux ◽  
Physical Processes ◽  
Inter Tropical Convergence Zone ◽  
Near Surface

This study investigates the physical processes controlling the mixed layer buoyancy using a regional configuration of an ocean general circulation model. Processes are quantified by using a linearized equation of state, a mixed-layer heat, and a salt budget. Model results correctly reproduce the observed seasonal near-surface density tendencies. The results indicate that the heat flux is located poleward of 10° of latitude, which is at least three times greater than the freshwater flux that mainly controls mixed layer buoyancy. During boreal spring-summer of each hemisphere, the freshwater flux partly compensates the heat flux in terms of buoyancy loss while, during the fall-winter, they act together. Under the seasonal march of the Inter-tropical Convergence Zone and in coastal areas affected by the river, the contribution of ocean processes on the upper density becomes important. Along the north Brazilian coast and the Gulf of Guinea, horizontal and vertical processes involving salinity are the main contributors to an upper water change with a contribution of at least twice as much the temperature. At the equator and along the Senegal-Mauritanian coast, vertical processes are the major oceanic contributors. This is mainly due to the vertical gradient of temperature at the mixed layer base in the equator while the salinity one dominates along the Senegal-Mauritania coast.

scholarly journals A One-Dimensional Mixed Layer Ocean Model for Use in Three-Dimensional Climate Simulations: Control Simulation Compared to Observations

2005 ◽  
Vol 18 (13) ◽  
pp. 2199-2221 ◽  
Author(s):  
Monica Y. Stephens ◽  
Robert J. Oglesby ◽  
Martin Maxey
Keyword(s):  
Heat Flux ◽  
Mixed Layer ◽  
General Circulation ◽  
Climate Model ◽  
Mixed Layer Depth ◽  
Circulation Model ◽  
Ocean Model ◽  
Ocean Dynamics ◽  
One Dimensional ◽  
Mixed Layer Ocean

Abstract A study has been made of the dynamic interactions between the surface layer of the ocean and the atmosphere using a climate model that contains a new approach to predicting the sea surface temperature (SST). The atmospheric conditions are simulated numerically with the NCAR Community Climate Model (CCM3). The SST is determined by a modified Kraus–Turner-type one-dimensional mixed layer ocean model (MLOM) for the upper ocean that has been coupled to CCM3. The MLOM simulates vertical ocean dynamics and demonstrates the effects of the seasonal variation of mixed layer depth and convective instability on the SST. A purely thermodynamic slab ocean model (SOM) is currently available for use with CCM3 to predict the SST. A large-scale ocean general circulation model (OGCM) may also be coupled to CCM3; however, the OGCM is computationally intensive and is therefore not a good tool for conducting multiple sensitivity studies. The MLOM provides an alternative to the SOM that contains seasonally and spatially specified mixed layer depths. The SOM also contains a heat flux correction called Q-flux that crudely accounts for ocean heat transport by artificially specifying a heat flux that forces the SOM to replicate the observed SST. The results of the coupled MLOM–CCM3 reveal that the MLOM may be used on a global scale and can therefore replace the standard coupled SOM–CCM3 that contains no explicit ocean dynamics. Additionally, stand-alone experiments of the MLOM that are forced with realistic winds, heat, and moisture fluxes show that the MLOM closely approximates the observed seasonal cycle of SST.

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