Search

Evidence for the assumptions of the salt-advection feedback in box models is sought by studying the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) internal variability in the long preindustrial control runs of two Earth system models. The first assumption is that AMOC strength is proportional to the meridional density difference between the North Atlantic and the Southern Oceans. The model simulations support this assumption, with the caveat that nearly all the long time-scale variability occurs in the North Atlantic density. The second assumption is that the freshwater transport variability by the overturning at the Atlantic southern boundary is controlled by the strength of AMOC. Only one of the models shows some evidence that AMOC variability at 45°N leads variability in the overturning freshwater transport at the southern boundary by about 30 years, but the other model shows no such coherence. In contrast, in both models this freshwater transport variability is dominated by local salinity variations. The third assumption is that changes in the overturning freshwater transport at the Atlantic southern boundary perturb the north-south density difference, and thus feed back on AMOC strength in the north. No evidence for this assumption is found in either model at any time scale, although this does not rule out that the salt-advection feedback may be excited by a strong enough freshwater perturbation.

A systematic study is presented of decadal climate variability in the North Pacific. In particular, the hypothesis is addressed that oceanic Rossby basin modes are responsible for enhanced energy at decadal and bidecadal time scales. To this end, a series of statistical analyses are performed on a 500-yr control integration of the Community Climate System Model, version 3 (CCSM3). In particular, a principal oscillation pattern (POP) analysis is performed to identify modal behavior in the subsurface pressure field. It is found that the dominant energy of sea surface temperature (SST) variability at 25 yr (the model equivalent of the Pacific decadal oscillation) cannot be explained by the resonant excitation of an oceanic basin mode. However, significant energy in the subsurface pressure field at time scales of 17 and 10 yr appears to be related to internal ocean oscillations. However, these oscillations lack the characteristics of the classical basin modes, and must either be deformed beyond recognition by the background circulation and inhomogeneous stratification or have another dynamical origin altogether. The 17-yr oscillation projects onto the Pacific decadal oscillation and, if present in the real ocean, has the potential to enhance the predictability of low-frequency climate variability in the North Pacific. © 2013 American Meteorological Society.

Open-ocean polynyas (OOPs) in the Southern Ocean are ice-free areas within the winter ice pack that are associated with deep convection, potentially contributing to the formation of Antarctic Bottom Water. To enhance the credibility of Earth system models (ESMs), their ability to simulate OOPs realistically is thus crucial. Here we investigate OOPs that emerge intermittently in a high-resolution (HR) preindustrial simulation with the Energy Exascale Earth System Model, version 0.1 (E3SMv0), an offspring of the Community Earth System Model (CESM). While low-resolution (LR) simulations with E3SMv0 show no signs of OOP formation, the preindustrial E3SMv0-HR simulation produces both large Weddell Sea polynyas (WSPs) as well as small Maud Rise polynyas (MRPs). The latter are associated with a prominent seamount in the eastern Weddell Sea, and their preconditioning and formation is the focus of this study. The steep flanks of the rugged topography in this region are in E3SMv0-HR sufficiently well resolved for the impinging flow to produce pronounced Taylor caps that precondition the region for convection. Aided by an accumulation of heat in the Weddell Deep Water layer, the ultimate trigger of convection that leads to MRPs is the advection of anomalously high upper-ocean-layer salinity. The crucial difference to WSP-producing LR ESM simulations is that in E3SMv0-HR, WSPs are realistically preceded by MRPs, which in turn are a result of the flow around bathymetry being represented with unprecedented detail. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The barotropic intraseasonal variability in the Australia–Antarctic Basin (AAB) is studied in terms of the excitation and decay of topographically trapped barotropic modes. The main objective is to reconcile two widely differing estimates of the decay rate of sea surface height (SSH) anomalies in the AAB that are assumed to be related to barotropic modes. First, an empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis is applied to almost 15 years of altimeter data. The analysis suggests that several modes are involved in the variability of the AAB, each related to distinct areas with (almost) closed contours of potential vorticity. Second, the dominant normal modes of the AAB are determined in a barotropic shallow-water (SW) model. These stationary modes are confined by the closed contours of potential vorticity that surround the eastern AAB, and the crest of the Southeast Indian Ridge. For reasonable values of horizontal eddy viscosity and bottom friction, their decay time scale is on the order of several weeks. Third, the SW model is forced with realistic winds and integrated for several years. Projection of the modal velocity patterns onto the output fields shows that the barotropic modes are indeed excited in the model, and that they decay slowly on the frictional O(3 weeks) time scale. However, the SSH anomalies in the modal areas display rapid O(4 days) decay. Additional analysis shows that this rapid decay reflects the adjustment of unbalanced flow components through the emission of Rossby waves. Resonant excitation of the dominant free modes accounts for about 20% of the SSH variability in the forced-model run. Other mechanisms are suggested to explain the region of high SSH variability in the AAB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Observations of the sea surface height in the Argentine Basin indicate that strong variability occurs on a time scale of 20-30 days. The aim of this study is to determine the physical processes responsible for this variability. First, results are presented from two statistical techniques applied to a decade of altimetric data. A complex empirical orthogonal function (CEOF) analysis identifies the recently discovered dipole mode as the dominant mode of variability. A principal oscillation pattern (POP) analysis confirms the existence of this mode, which has a period of 25 days. The second CEOF displays a propagating pattern in the northern Argentine Basin, plus a rotating dipole in the southwest corner. The POP analysis identifies both patterns as individual modes, with periods of 30 and 20 days, respectively. Second, the barotropic normal modes of the Argentine Basin are studied, using a shallow-water model capturing the full bathymetry of the basin. Coherences between the spatial patterns of these modes and altimeter data suggest that several of the basin modes are involved in the observed variability. This analysis implies that the 20-day mode detected by recent bottom-pressure measurements is a true barotropic mode. However, the 25-day variability, as found in altimeter data, cannot be directly attributed to the excitation of a free Rossby basin mode. This study indicates that the results of several apparently conflicting observations of the flow variability in the Argentine Basin can be reconciled by assuming that multiple basin modes are involved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper the spectrum of barotropic basin modes of the Argentine Basin is shown to be connected to the classical Rossby basin modes of a flat-bottom (constant depth), rectangular basin. First, the spectrum of basin modes is calculated for the Argentine Basin, by performing a normal-mode analysis of the barotropic shallow-water equations. Then a homotopy transformation is performed that gradually morphs the full-bathymetry geometry through a flat-bottom configuration into a rectangular basin. Following the eigenmodes through this transition establishes a connection between most of the basin modes and the classical Rossby basin modes of a rectangular geometry. In particular, the 20-day mode of the Argentine Basin is identified with the lowest-order mode of classical theory. Sensitivity studies show that the decay rate of each mode is controlled by bottom friction, but that it is insensitive to lateral friction; lateral friction strongly impacts the oscillation frequency. In addition, the modes are found to be only slightly sensitive to the presence of a background flow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study addresses the response of the Southern Ocean to high-frequency wind forcing, focusing on the impact of several barotropic modes on the circumpolar transport. A suite of experiments is performed with an unstratified model of the Southern Ocean, forced with a stochastic wind stress that contains a large range of frequencies with synoptic time scales. The Southern Ocean adjustment displays a different character for frequencies below and above 0.2 cpd. The low-frequency range is dominated by an “almost-free-mode” response in the region where contours of f /H are obstructed by only a few bathymetric features; the truly free mode only plays a minor role. Topographic form stress, rather than friction, is the dominant decay mechanism of the Southern Mode. It leads to a spindown time scale on the order of 3 days. For the high-frequency range, the circumpolar transport is dominated by the resonant excitation of oscillatory modes. The “active” response of the ocean leads to strong changes and even discontinuities in the phase relation between transport and wind stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A study of the stability of the global ocean circulation is performed within a coarse-resolution general circulation model. Using techniques of numerical bifurcation theory, steady states of the global ocean circulation are explicitly calculated as parameters are varied. Under a freshwater flux forcing that is diagnosed from a reference circulation with Levitus surface salinity fields, the global ocean circulation has no multiple equilibria. It is shown how this unique-state regime transforms into a regime with multiple equilibria as the pattern of the freshwater flux is changed in the northern North Atlantic Ocean. In the multiple-equilibria regime, there are two branches of stable steady solutions: one with a strong northern overturning in the Atlantic and one with hardly any northern overturning. Along the unstable branch that connects both stable solution branches (here for the first time computed for a global ocean model), the strength of the southern sinking in the South Atlantic changes substantially. The existence of the multiple-equilibria regime critically depends on the spatial pattern of the freshwater flux field and explains the hysteresis behavior as found in many previous modeling studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A systematic approach is proposed to determine thresholds in freshwater flux perturbations related to abrupt changes in the ocean's thermohaline circulation. The typical problem considered is the response of a thermohaline driven flow to a localized change, of specified strength and duration, in the surface freshwater flux. The initial transient response due to the freshwater anomaly is considered as a finite amplitude perturbation. An estimate of this response can be obtained by using ideas from dynamical systems theory. Central quantity to determine whether such a perturbation leads to instability (i.e. a ‘collapsed’ state) is the sign of the tendency of a specific energy functional. The approach is first illustrated with a simple box model and then shown to give good results in a global ocean general circulation model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the recent developments in the solution methods for large-dimensional nonlinear algebraic systems, fully-implicit ocean circulation models are now becoming feasible. In this paper, the formulation of such a three-dimensional global ocean model is presented. With this implicit model, the sensitivity of steady states to parameters can be investigated efficiently using continuation methods. In addition, the implicit formulation allows for much larger time steps than can be used with explicit models. To demonstrate current capabilities of the implicit global ocean model, we use a relatively low-resolution (4° horizontally and 12 levels vertically) version. For this configuration, we present: (i) an explicit calculation of the bifurcation diagram associated with hysteresis behavior of the ocean circulation and (ii) the scaling behavior of the Atlantic meridional overturning versus the magnitude of the vertical mixing coefficient of heat and salt. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

For the first time, the (linear) stability of the global ocean circulation has been determined explicitly. In a low-resolution general circulation model, a steady state is computed directly by solving the elliptic boundary value problem. The stability of this solution is determined by solving the generalized eigenvalue problem. Although the steady global circulation is (linearly) stable, there are two interesting oscillatory modes among the least stable ones, with periods of about 3800 and 2300 yr. These modes are characterized by buoyancy anomalies that propagate through the ocean basins as they are advected by the global overturning circulation. The millennial timescale is set by the time it takes for anomalies to travel, at depth, from the North Atlantic to the North Pacific. Further analyses confirm that the advective feedback between the steady flow and buoyancy anomalies is an essential process in the propagation mechanism. The growth rate of the millennial modes is controlled by vertical mixing. It is argued that these internal ocean modes may be a relevant mechanism for global climate variability on millennial timescales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) is an integral part of the circulation in the Atlantic Ocean. The AMOC is typically characterized by the meridional streamfunction, which is also an indicator of the thermohaline circulation. This paper explores the mean state and long-term variability of the Atlantic meridional streamfunction and Atlantic meridional heat transport from six multidecadal ocean reanalysis. Statistics based on the meridional overturning streamfunction and the meridional heat transport are computed in the same manner across the products, and analyzed. The maximum streamfunction values in the Atlantic are located between 35°N and 50°N for the various ocean reanalyses. The Atlantic heat transport is greater between the Greater Antilles (at about 20°N) and 25°N, similar to the observations. The streamfunction and heat transport have stronger seasonality in the deep tropics. In the North Atlantic the annual harmonic of the streamfunction has greater amplitude in July between 40°N and 50°N. Even though there are differences in the mean strength of the streamfunction and the heat transport, there are robust similarities in their seasonal cycle across ocean reanalyses. Furthermore, although the year-to-year variability of the meridional heat transport is not consistent across products, there are other aspects that are consistent. The relationship between streamfunction and meridional heat transport at 30°N (i.e., in the northern hemisphere) shows greater consistency than that between streamfunction and meridional heat transport at 30°S (i.e., in the southern hemisphere). Also, even though the North Atlantic sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies are greatly consistent, their relationship with the meridional streamfunction is disparate. However, the relationship between North Atlantic SST anomalies and meridional heat transport shows some consistency with respect to the meridional profile. The greater numbers of temperature data assimilated may help in constraining the meridional heat transport more than the streamfunction, thereby indicating the meridional heat transport to be an important field to analyze with respect to observed changes in the AMOC. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]