dorsal/arxiv
View SchemaOn the mechanism of decadal oscillations in a coarse resolution ocean model
| Authors | G. Lenderink, R. J. Haarsma |
|---|---|
| Categories | |
| ArXiv ID | physics/9610021 |
| URL | https://arxiv.org/abs/physics/9610021 |
Abstract
The mechanism that causes an interdecadal oscillation in a coarse resolution sector ocean model forced by mixed boundary conditions is studied. The oscillation is characterized by large fluctuations in convective activity and air/sea heat exchange on a decadal time scale. When the convective activity is large, a strengthening of the southeastward surface flow advects more relatively fresh water from the northwestern part of the basin into the convective area, which reduces the convective activity. Similarly, when the convective activity is small, the flow of relatively fresh water is weak, which enables the expansion of the convective area. The oscillation critically depends on how the ocean circulation, and especially the surface circulation, responds to anomalous convective activity. Horizontal boundaries turn out to play an important role in the dynamical response of the ocean circulation. That the dynamical reponse is essential to the oscillation is confirmed with two simple (conceptual) models, and some idealized ocean experiments.
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"abstract": "The mechanism that causes an interdecadal oscillation in a coarse resolution\nsector ocean model forced by mixed boundary conditions is studied. The\noscillation is characterized by large fluctuations in convective activity and\nair/sea heat exchange on a decadal time scale. When the convective activity is\nlarge, a strengthening of the southeastward surface flow advects more\nrelatively fresh water from the northwestern part of the basin into the\nconvective area, which reduces the convective activity. Similarly, when the\nconvective activity is small, the flow of relatively fresh water is weak, which\nenables the expansion of the convective area. The oscillation critically\ndepends on how the ocean circulation, and especially the surface circulation,\nresponds to anomalous convective activity. Horizontal boundaries turn out to\nplay an important role in the dynamical response of the ocean circulation. That\nthe dynamical reponse is essential to the oscillation is confirmed with two\nsimple (conceptual) models, and some idealized ocean experiments.",
"arxiv_id": "physics/9610021",
"authors": [
"G. Lenderink",
"R. J. Haarsma"
],
"categories": [
"physics.ao-ph"
],
"title": "On the mechanism of decadal oscillations in a coarse resolution ocean model",
"url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/physics/9610021"
},
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