Description: The possibilities of defining and computing an approximately neutral density variable are reexamined in this paper. There are three desirable properties that a neutral density variable should possess. Firstly, the isosurfaces of this variable should coincide with (approximately) neutral surfaces. This would facilitate the analysis of hydrographic data on the most appropriate mixing and spreading surfaces. Secondly, the horizontal gradients of the neutral density should agree with the gradients of the in situ density, and thirdly the vertical gradient of the neutral density variable should be proportional to the static stability of the water column. A density variable that approximates the latter two properties can be used in ocean circulation models based on layer coordinates, and would reduce substantial errors in present isopycnal models due to the use of a potential density variable. No variable can possess all the three properties simultaneously. The variable γn introduced by Jackett and McDougall (1997, J. Phys. Oceanogr. 27, 237–263) satisfies the first of the properties exactly but is not designed for the use in models. Based on climatological data in the North Atlantic, an alternative neutral density variable ν̃(S, Θ) is defined, which is shown to approximate the two gradient criteria much better than any potential density. We suggest that this neutral density variable may be useful in isopycnal ocean models as an alternative to potential density, since it could significantly reduce errors in thermal wind relation and vertical stability

Description: The sensitivity of the meridional overturning circulation (MOC) of the Southern Ocean (SO) to wind stress changes is discussed. Using an idealised SO model in both non- and eddy-permitting configurations, we assess the effects of both, coarsening the horizontal resolution and implementing different parameterisations for the lateral eddy diffusivity appropriate to the Gent and McWilliams (1990) parameterisation, K. We find that the MOC is characterised by an eddy-driven part ψ* which generally opposes the wind-driven part and that the increase of the MOC diminishes with amplifying winds, with the possibility that the MOC in the SO may become completely insensitive to wind stress changes. However, for moderate wind stress, the MOC is still significantly increasing in our configuration. The diagnosed lateral eddy diffusivity K in the eddy-permitting version shows strong spatial variability and is increasing with increasing wind stress. Similar to the MOC (but in contrast to ψ*) the increase of K diminishes with amplifying winds. It turns out that a small increase in the isopycnal slopes is also relevant in order to capture the correct sensitivity of ψ* on wind stress. This relation also holds in model configurations with coarser but still eddy-permitting horizontal resolution: decreasing the horizontal resolution decreases K, but increases the isopycnal slopes such that the strength of the MOC including its sensitivity to wind stress is almost unchanged. The parameterisations are able to reproduce the MOC for certain wind stresses, but all parameterisations underestimate the sensitivity of K and thus overestimate the sensitivity of the MOC on wind stress. Our results show that it is indispensable to incorporate the correct sensitivity of K into climate models in order to reproduce the correct sensitivity of the MOC to wind stress and that up-to-date parameterisations for K are only partially successful.

Description: Meridional diffusivities from Lagrangian particle dispersion and Eulerian diffusivities from a flux-gradient relationship are estimated in an idealized primitive equation channel model featuring eddy-driven zonal jets. The Eulerian estimate shows an increase with depth and clear minima of meridional diffusivities within the zonal jets, indicating mixing barriers. The Lagrangian estimates agree with the Eulerian method on the vertical variation and also show indications of meridional mimima, although meridional variations are poorly resolved. We found early maxima in the particle spreading rates which should not be related to diffusivities since they are caused by the meandering zonal jets. The meanders also produce rotational eddy fluxes, which can obscure the Eulerian diffusivity estimates. Zonal particle dispersion rates do not converge within the chosen lag interval, because of shear dispersion by the mean flow, i.e. it is not possible to estimate Lagrangian zonal diffusivities representative for regions of similar size of the zonal jet spacing. Removing the zonal mean flow, zonal and meridional dispersion rates converge and show much higher zonal than meridional diffusivities. Further, the pronounced vertical increase and indications of meridional minima in the Lagrangian meridional diffusivities disappear, pointing towards the importance of shear dispersion by the mean flow for the suppression of meridional mixing by zonal jets. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Description: The coastal upwelling off Mauritania and its connection with the oxygen minimum zone (OMZ) in the tropical Atlantic is investigated in an eddy-resolving general circulation model. Two main supply routes for the upwelling are identified. First a southern eastward pathway crossing 23 degrees W between 3 degrees N and 10 degrees N related to the equatorial zonal current system supplies up to 50% of the water upwelled in winter, and about 30% in summer. Second, another eastward pathway crossing 23 degrees W further north between 28 degrees N and 38 degrees N supplies 35% of the upwelled water in spring compared to 25% during the rest of the year. Most of the water of the northern pathway is entrained into the mixed layer already before reaching the upwelling region. Only the southern pathway contributes not recently ventilated waters to the upwelling. The connection with the OMZ is very weak, only about 1% of the upwelling waters originate here. On the other hand, if water from the OMZ reaches the surface mixed layer within 6 years, this mostly (71%) happens in the upwelling region

Description: The bottom pressure torque is known to vanish in the interior ocean but to play a dominant role in the western boundary layer in balancing the planetary vorticity on spatial scales larger than the Rossby radius of deformation. In this study, the appearance of the bottom pressure torque and thus any deviation of wind-driven flow from classical Sverdrup balance is locally related in steady state to non-zero bolus velocity and/or friction, under the assumption that horizontal density advection is small compared to the lifting of isopycnals. To first order approximation, the vortex stretching by the vertical bolus velocity is related to the bottom pressure torque. The bolus vortex stretching becomes a significant term in the barotropic vorticity budget of the western boundary layer and is formally equivalent to bottom friction as in the classical models of the wind-driven gyre circulation.

Description: The mean available potential energy released by baroclinic instability into the meso-scale eddy field has to be dissipated in some way and Tandon and Garrett [Tandon, A., Garrett, C., 1996. On a recent parameterization of mesoscale eddies. J. Phys. Oceanogr. 26 (3), 406–416] suggested that this dissipation could ultimately involve irreversible mixing of buoyancy by molecular processes at the small-scale end of the turbulence cascade. We revisit this idea and argue that the presence of dissipation within the thermocline automatically requires that a component of the eddy flux associated with meso-scale eddies must be associated with irreversible mixing of buoyancy within the thermocline. We offer a parameterisation of the implied diapycnal diffusivity based on (i) the dissipation rate for eddy kinetic energy given by the meso-scale eddy closure of Eden and Greatbatch [Eden, C., Greatbatch, R.J., 2008. Towards a meso-scale eddy closure. Ocean Modell. 20, 223–239.] and (ii) a fixed mixing efficiency. The implied eddy-induced diapycnal diffusivity (κ) is implemented in a coarse resolution model of the North Atlantic. In contrast to the vertical diffusivity given by a standard vertical mixing scheme, large lateral inhomogeneities can be found for κ in the interior of the ocean. In general, κ is large, i.e. up to o(10) cm2/s, near the western boundaries and almost vanishing in the interior of the ocean.

Description: Zusammenfassung A turbulence closure for the effect of mesoscale eddies in non-eddy-resolving ocean models is proposed. The closure consists of a prognostic equation for the eddy kinetic energy (EKE) that is integrated as an additional model equation, and a diagnostic relation for an eddy length scale (L), which is given by the minimum of Rhines scale and Rossby radius. Combining EKE and L using a standard mixing length assumption gives a diffusivity (K), corresponding to the thickness diffusivity in the [Gent, P.R., McWilliams, J.C. 1990. Isopycnal mixing in ocean circulation models. J. Phys. Oceanogr. 20, 150-155] parameterisation. Assuming downgradient mixing of potential vorticity with identical diffusivity shows how K is related to horizontal and vertical mixing processes in the horizontal momentum equation, and also enables us to parameterise the source of EKE related to eddy momentum fluxes. The mesoscale eddy closure is evaluated using synthetic data from two different eddy-resolving models covering the North Atlantic Ocean and the Southern Ocean, respectively. The diagnosis shows that the mixing length assumption together with the definition of eddy length scales is valid within certain limitations. Furthermore, implementation of the closure in non-eddy-resolving models of the North Atlantic and the Southern Ocean shows consistently that the closure has skill at reproducing the results of the eddy-resolving model versions in terms of EKE and K.

Description: Combining the buoyancy and tracer budget in the generalised Temporal Residual Mean (TRM-G) framework of [Eden, C., Greatbatch, R.J., Olbers, D. 2007a. Interpreting eddy fluxes. J. Phys. Oceanogr. 37, 1282–1296], we show that within the small slope approximation and weakly diabatic situation, the isopycnal diffusivity is related to the difference of the streamfunctions of the eddy-induced velocities of tracer and buoyancy divided by the angle between the (negative) slopes of isopycnals and the isolines of the tracer. Using this result tracer simulations of a realistic mesoscale-eddy-permitting model of the North Atlantic coupled to a biogeochemical model are diagnosed in terms of zonal (View the MathML sourceKI(x)) and meridional (View the MathML sourceKI(y)) isopycnal diffusivities relevant for non-eddy-permitting ocean models. We find for tracers having different interior sources and surface forcing and therefore different lateral and vertical mean gradients, values of View the MathML sourceKI(x) and View the MathML sourceKI(y) with similar magnitudes and lateral and vertical structure. In general, isopycnal diffusivities lie within the expected range between 0 and 5000 m2/s but we also find a strong anisotropy with View the MathML sourceKI(x) much larger than View the MathML sourceKI(y) over large regions of the North Atlantic. Both View the MathML sourceKI(x) and View the MathML sourceKI(y) are larger within and above the thermocline but decay almost to zero below. Our results also support the common practise of the use of identical isopycnal and thickness diffusivity for any tracer in ocean models.

Description: Several shipboard sections acquired in the western equatorial Atlantic along 35∘W35∘W allow for the first time to analyze the annual cycle of the density and velocity field in the upper 2000 m within this region. The amplitude of the annual harmonic of the velocity field shows several distinct maxima at the equator. Strong amplitudes up to View the MathML source15cms-1 are found in the depth range of the equatorial intermediate current (EIC) between 400 and 1000 m depth that are slightly shifted northward with respect to the equator. The meridional structure of the annual harmonics as well as upward phase propagation is consistent with downward propagating odd meridional mode Rossby waves. The observations are compared with a regional numerical model with very high vertical resolution. Good agreement is found between the simulated and observed structure and the amplitude of the annual harmonics. The model results suggest the presence of equatorial beams composed of wind-generated Kelvin and Rossby beams (causing seasonality in the near surface layer) as well as Rossby beams generated by the reflection of Kelvin beams at the eastern boundary (causing seasonality in the depth range of the EIC at the 35∘W35∘W section). The annual cycle of the sea surface height (SSH) observed by TOPEX/Poseidon altimetry indicates an east–west seesaw pattern that corresponds to the fast response (about 30 days lag) of the zonal SSH gradient to the annual cycle of the zonal wind field at the equator due to the propagation of lowest baroclinic mode equatorial waves. The increase of the easterly winds in the western equatorial Atlantic associated with El Nino in the beginning of 1997 led almost instantaneously to an adjustment of the zonal SSH gradient with elevated (depressed) SSH in the western (eastern) basin. In contrast, the velocity field at intermediate depths lags the zonal wind forcing by several months up to a year as the model simulation reveals.

Description: Meso-scale fluctuations are known to drive large-scale zonal flows in the ocean, a mechanism which is currently missing in non-eddy-resolving ocean models. A closure for meso-scale eddy momentum fluxes is evaluated in a suite of idealised eddying channel models, featuring eddy-driven zonal jets. It is shown how the appearance of zonal jets, which act as mixing barriers for turbulent exchange, and reduced lateral diffusivities are linked in a natural way by implementing mixing of potential vorticity and using a gauge term to insure that no spurious forces are introduced. It appears, therefore, possible to parameterise the appearance of zonal jets and its effect on the ventilation of interior ocean basins in non-eddy-resolving, realistic ocean models.