The Baroclinic Instability of a Mid-ocean Circulation

The Baroclinic Instability of a Mid-ocean Circulation PDF Author: Elliott Eugene Schulman
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

Book Description


Interhemispheric Water Exchange in the Atlantic Ocean

Interhemispheric Water Exchange in the Atlantic Ocean PDF Author: G.J. Goni
Publisher: Elsevier
ISBN: 0080534899
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 523

Book Description
Recent results from modeling and observational studies demonstrate that the tropical Atlantic is a critical region for processes that maintain the meridional overturning circulation, such as cross-equatorial exchanges, and for sea surface temperature variability that impacts on climate variability of the coupled tropical ocean/atmosphere system. The theme of this book is the inter-hemispheric and inter-gyre exchanges of heat, salt and fresh water, while its goal is to improve the knowledge of the tropical Atlantic dynamics and how it affects the global ocean. A clear understanding of the dynamics of processes that affect the flow of mass and heat between the southern and the northern hemispheres in the upper few hundred meters in the tropical Atlantic and of those associated to the ocean circulation or to surface signals, from decadal, inter-annual to mesoscale periods, becomes necessary to better evaluate their contribution to the interhemispheric mass exchange. These processes are believed to be largely responsible in driving the sea surface temperature, which in turn, is a critical parameter to investigate ocean-atmospheric interactions. Output produced by regional models is also used to complement the observations and to provide additional information on their spatial and temporal variability. The subtropical cells, by bringing water masses subducted in the subtropics to the equator, and zonal currents investigated here contribute to the interhemispheric water exchange. Special attention is also given to the warm and salty anticyclonic rings shed by the North Brazil Current, which are now known to have a much broader impact, not only on interhemispheric water mass transfer, but also on the environment of remote regions. Observations from different sources are blended together, are used to validate model outputs and are also assimilated into models to obtain a more complete and accurate picture of the oceanic circulation and of its time evolution.

Generation of Mid-ocean Eddies

Generation of Mid-ocean Eddies PDF Author: Brian K. Arbic
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Baroclinicity
Languages : en
Pages : 290

Book Description


Large-Scale Transport Processes in Oceans and Atmosphere

Large-Scale Transport Processes in Oceans and Atmosphere PDF Author: J. Willebrand
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 9400947682
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 384

Book Description
One of the major experiments in earth science at the present time is about to begin: the World Climate Research Program (WCRP). The objectives of WCRP are to determine the extent to which climate change can be predicted, and the extent to which human activities (such as increasing the level of CO ) can influence our climate. 2 To understand and possibly to predict climate change, one needs a good understanding of the dynamics of the ocean, the atmosphere, and the processes by which they are coupled. Two major programs are being developed within WCRP: TOGA (Tropical Oceans, Global Atmosphere) and WOCE (World Ocean CirculatIon Experiment). The success of these programs will depend on many things, not least of which is the existence of a pool of active young researchers. This NATO Advanced Study Institute brought together students and young scientists from 13 countries, most of them from Europe and North America. The objective was to provide them with a background in the perceived state of knowledge of atmosphere and ocean dynamics, and to mediate a flavour of the problems presently concerning scientists active in climate related dynamics. In the past, the two disciplines of oceanography and meteorology have largely been carried out separately. But for climate research both disciplines must interact strongly, and another ob jecti ve of this school was to bring together both oceanographers and meteorologists. To promote an integrated approach, the lecture presentations were divided into two formats.

Ocean Circulation

Ocean Circulation PDF Author: Rui Xin Huang
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 0521852285
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 807

Book Description
It provides a concise introduction to the dynamics and thermodynamics of oceanic general circulation.

Ocean Circulation and Climate

Ocean Circulation and Climate PDF Author: Jennifer MacKinnon
Publisher: Elsevier Inc. Chapters
ISBN: 0128058560
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 62

Book Description
Diapycnal mixing in the ocean interior is driven by a wide range of processes, each with distinct governing physics and unique global geography. Here we review the primary processes responsible for turbulent mixing in the ocean interior, with an emphasis on active work from the past decade. We conclude with a discussion of global patterns of mixing and their importance for regional and large-scale modeling accuracy.

Ocean Circulation and Climate

Ocean Circulation and Climate PDF Author: Stephen R. Rintoul
Publisher: Elsevier Inc. Chapters
ISBN: 0128058676
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 58

Book Description
The Southern Ocean circulation connects the ocean basins as well as the upper and deep layers of the ocean. As a result, the region has a profound influence on the global ocean circulation and climate. The Antarctic Circumpolar Current and the overturning circulation are dynamically linked through interactions between the mean flow, eddies, topography, air–sea forcing, and mixing and stirring by small- and mesoscale processes. A new dynamical paradigm is emerging that emphasizes the fully three-dimensional nature of the circulation, including the localization of meridional and vertical exchange of momentum, vorticity, and tracers by interactions between the flow and topography. Changes observed in the Southern Ocean in recent decades have implications for global climate and provide insight into the response of the Southern Ocean circulation to changes in forcing.

Ocean Circulation and Climate

Ocean Circulation and Climate PDF Author: B. Fox-Kemper
Publisher: Elsevier Inc. Chapters
ISBN: 0128058579
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 72

Book Description
The dominant processes leading to lateral transport by the general ocean circulation are reviewed. The general circulation is distinguished from a theoretical steady flow by the effects of mesoscale eddies. The general circulation flow may be averaged over the scale of the eddies, but averaging does not eliminate correlations among eddy variables. The present state of understanding of the transport by these eddy correlations, and how they are parameterized in models, is discussed in some detail. Satellite, drifter, and model estimates of eddy statistics are compared. Particular emphasis is placed on the direction, heterogeneity, and anisotropy of eddy-induced diffusion, advection, and transport.

Ocean Modeling in an Eddying Regime

Ocean Modeling in an Eddying Regime PDF Author: Matthew W. Hecht
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1118671996
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 654

Book Description
Published by the American Geophysical Union as part of the Geophysical Monograph Series, Volume 177. This monograph is the first to survey progress in realistic simulation in a strongly eddying regime made possible by recent increases in computational capability. Its contributors comprise the leading researchers in this important and constantly evolving field. Divided into three parts Oceanographic Processes and Regimes: Fundamental Questions Ocean Dynamics and State: From Regional to Global Scale, and Modeling at the Mesoscale: State of the Art and Future Directions The volume details important advances in physical oceanography based on eddy resolving ocean modeling. It captures the state of the art and discusses issues that ocean modelers must consider in order to effectively contribute to advancing current knowledge, from subtleties of the underlying fluid dynamical equations to meaningful comparison with oceanographic observations and leading-edge model development. It summarizes many of the important results which have emerged from ocean modeling in an eddying regime, for those interested broadly in the physical science. More technical topics are intended to address the concerns of those actively working in the field.

Ocean Processes in Climate Dynamics

Ocean Processes in Climate Dynamics PDF Author: Paola Malanotte-Rizzoli
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 9780792326243
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 468

Book Description
Proceedings of the NATO Advanced Study Institute held in Erice, Italy, Jan.-Feb. 1993. The Institute comprised three main bodies of lectures. The first set is devoted to the fundamentals of physics and dynamics that underlie the air-sea exchange process; the overall general circulation; the global conveyor belt with its multiple equilibria and time reversals; and the physics of convection and water mass formation, spreading, and transformations. The second set of lectures is devoted to global examples of these dynamical and physical processes. The third set of lectures is devoted to the Mediterranean Sea. Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR