Decomposition of the mean barotropic transport in a high-resolution model of the North Atlantic Ocean.

Wang, Yuan, Claus, Martin , Greatbatch, Richard John and Sheng, Jinyu (2017) Decomposition of the mean barotropic transport in a high-resolution model of the North Atlantic Ocean. Open Access Geophysical Research Letters, 44 (22). 11,537-11,546. DOI 10.1002/2017GL074825.

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Abstract

We show how a barotropic shallow water model can be used to decompose the mean barotropic transport from a high-resolution ocean model based on the vertically-averaged momentum equations. We apply the method to a high resolution model of the North Atlantic for which the local vorticity budget is both noisy and dominated by small spatial scales. The shallow water model acts as an effective filter and clearly reveals the transport driven by each term. The potential energy (JEBAR) term is the most important for driving transport, including in the northwest corner, while mean flow advection is important for driving transport along f/H contours around the Labrador Sea continental slope. Both the eddy momentum flux and the mean flow advection terms drive significant transport along the pathway of the Gulf Stream and the North Atlantic Current.

Document Type: Article
Keywords: North Atlantic Ocean; barotropic transport; JEBAR; eddy momentum flux; mean flow advection
Research affiliation: OceanRep > SFB 754
OceanRep > SFB 754 > A9
OceanRep > GEOMAR > FB1 Ocean Circulation and Climate Dynamics > FB1-TM Theory and Modeling
Dalhousie
Kiel University
Refereed: Yes
Open Access Journal?: No
Publisher: AGU (American Geophysical Union), Wiley
Projects: MiKlip2, ATMOS-MODINI, SFB754
Date Deposited: 08 Nov 2017 11:49
Last Modified: 31 Jan 2023 05:23
URI: https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/40093

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