Impacts of model resolution on simulation of meso-scale eddies in the Northeast Pacific Ocean

Authors

  • Youyu Lu Bedford Institute of Oceanography
  • Jiaxing Li Tianjin University of Science and Technology
  • Ji Lei Environment and Climate Change Canada

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18063/som.v2i2.328

Keywords:

ocean modelling, meso-scale eddies, Northeast Pacific Ocean

Abstract

The model simulated meso-scale eddies in the Northeast Pacific Ocean, using two models with nominal horizontal resolutions of 1/12° and 1/36° in latitude/longitude (grid spacing of 7.5 km and 2.5 km), respectively, are presented. Compared with the 1/12° model, the 1/36° model obtains (1) similar variance and wavenumber spectra of  the sea level anomaly and water temperature anomaly, and (2) increases in the level of the domain-averaged total kinetic energy, eddy kinetic energy (EKE), and variance of horizontal gradient of water temperature. In the interior basin of the southern region, both models show stronger eddy frontal activities, represented by EKE, temperature and its horizontal gradient, in summer and fall than in winter and spring. The challenge of evaluating the realism of high-resolution ocean models with conventional satellite remote sensing observations is discussed.

References

Axell L B. (2002). Wind-driven internal waves and Langmuir circulations in a numerical ocean model of the southern Baltic Sea. Journal of Geophysical Research, 107(C11): 3204. http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2001JC000922

Amante C and Eakins B W. (2009). ETOPO1 1 arc-minute global relief model: Procedures, data sources and analysis. Technical Report, NOAA Technical Memorandum NESDIS NGDC-24, National Geophysical Data Center, NOAA. http://dx.doi.org/10.7289/V5C8276M

Becker J J, Sandwell D T, Smith W H F, et al. (2009). Global bathymetry and elevation data at 30 arc seconds resolution: SRTM30_PLUS. Marine Geodesy, 32(4): 355–371. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01490410903297766

Blanke B and Delecluse P. (1993). Variability of the tropical Atlantic ocean simulated by a general circulation model with two different mixed layer physics. Journal of Physical Oceanography, 23: 1363–1388. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/1520-0485(1993)023<1363:VOTTAO>2.0.CO;2

Crawford W R, Cherniawsky J Y and Foreman M G G. (2000) Multi-year meanders and eddies in the Alaskan Stream as observed by TOPEX/Poseidon altimeter. Geophysical Research Letters, 27(7): 1025–1028. http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/1999GL002399

Crawford W, Galbraith J and Bolingbroke N. (2007). Line P ocean temperature and salinity, 1956–2005. Progress in Oceanography, 75(2): 161–178. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pocean.2007.08.017.

Delworth T L, Rosati A and Anderson W. (2012). Simulated climate and climate change in the GFDL CM2.5 high-resolution coupled climate model. Journal Climate, 25: 2755–2781. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-11-00316.1

Drakkar Group. (2007). Eddy permitting ocean circulation hindcasts of past decades. CLIVAR Exchanges, 12: 8–10.

Dupont F, Higginson S, Bourdallé-Badie R, et al. (2015). A high-resolution ocean and sea-ice modelling system for the Arctic and North Atlantic Oceans. Geoscientific Model Development, 8: 1577–1594. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/gmd-8-1577-2015

Ferry N, Parent L, Garric G, et al. (2012). GLORYS2V1 global ocean reanalysis of the altimetric era (1992–2009) at meso scale. Mercator Quarterly Newsletter, 44: 29–39. http://www.mercator-ocean.fr/eng/actualites-agenda/newsletter, 2012.

Flather R A. (1976). A tidal model of the Northeast Pacific. Atmosphere-Ocean, 23: 22–45.

Fu L L, Chelton D B, Le Traon P Y, et al. (2010). Eddy dynamics from satellite altimetry. Oceanography, 23(4):14–25. http://dx.doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2010.02

Gaspar P, Grégoris Y and Lefevre J M. (1990). A simple eddy kinetic energy model for simulations of the oceanic vertical mixing: Tests at station Papa and long-term upper ocean study site. Journal of Geophysical Research, 95(C9): 16179–16193. http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/JC095iC09p16179

Hollingsworth A, Kalbers P, Renner V, et al. (1983). An internal symmetric computational instability. Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society, 109(460): 417–428. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/qj.49710946012

Katavouta A, Thompson K R, Lu Y, et al. (2016). Interaction between the tidal and seasonal variability of the Gulf of Maine and Scotian shelf region. Journal of Physical Oceanography, 46: 3279–3298. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/JPO-D-15-0091.1

Madec G, Delecluse P, Imbard M, et al. (1998). OPA8.1 Ocean general Circulation Model reference manual. Note du Pole de modelisazion, Institut Pierre-Simon Laplace (IPSL), France, 11.

Madec G. (2008). NEMO ocean engine. Note du Pole de modélisation, No 27 ISSN No 1288–1619, Institut Pierre–Simon Laplace (IPSL), France.

Marchesiello P, McWilliams J C and Shchepetkin A. (2001). Open boundary conditions for long-term integration of regional oceanic models. Ocean Modelling, 3: 1–20. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S1463-5003(00)00013-5

Mellor G and Blumberg A. (2004). Wave breaking and ocean surface layer thermal response. Journal of Physical Oceanography, 34: 693–698. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/2517.1

Rio M H, Guinehut S and Larnicol G. (2011). New CNES-CLS09 global mean dynamic topography computed from the combination of GRACE data, altimetry, and in situ measurements. Journal of Geophysical Research, 116: C07018. http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2010JC006505

Smith G C, Roy F, Mann P, et al. (2013). A new atmospheric dataset for forcing ice–ocean models: Evaluation of reforecasts using the Canadian global deterministic prediction system. Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society, 140(680): 881–894. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/qj.2194

Smith R D, Maltrud M E, Bryan F O, et al. (2000). Numerical Simulation of the North Atlantic Ocean at 1/10°. Journal of Physical Oceanography, 30: 1532–1561. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/1520-0485(2000)030<1532:NSOTNA>2.0.CO;2

Stacey M W, Shore J, Wright D G, et al. (2006). Modeling events of sea-surface variability using spectral nudging in an eddy permitting model of the northeast Pacific Ocean. Journal of Geophysical Research, 111: C06037. http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2005JC003278

Stammer D. (1997). Global characteristics of ocean variability estimated from regional TOPEX/POSEIDON altimeter measurements. Journal of Physical Oceanography, 27: 1743–1769. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/1520-0485(1997)027<1743:GCOOVE>2.0.CO;2

Zhai L, Lu Y, Higginson S, et al. (2015). High-resolution modelling of the mean flow and meso-scale eddy variablity around the Grand Banks of Newfoundland. Ocean Dynamics, 65(6): 877–887. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10236-015-0839-5

Downloads

Published

2017-12-29

Issue

Vol 2, No 2 (Published)

Section

Articles

License

Authors contributing to Satellite Oceanography and Meterology agree to publish their articles under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 International License, allowing third parties to share their work (copy, distribute, transmit) and to adapt it, under the condition that the authors are given credit, that the work is not used for commercial purposes, and that in the event of reuse or distribution, the terms of this license are made clear. With this license, the authors hold the copyright without restrictions and are allowed to retain publishing rights without restrictions as long as the Satellite Oceanography and Meterology is the original publisher of the articles.