2004 LOM Workshop

Tuesday 1:20 - 1:40 p.m.

On the Mechanisms of Decadal Variability of the Wind-Driven Ocean Circulation

Peter Killworth, Andrew Hogg, Jeffrey Blundell, William Dewar
Southampton Oceanography Centre
p.killworth@soc.soton.ac.uk

ABSTRACT

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Eddy resolving simulations of wind driven circulation in a large ocean basin are presented. A series of numerical experiments are used to demonstrate that the mean state and variability of the circulation is dependent upon the strength of ocean eddies, which in turn are controlled by parameters such as viscosity and bottom drag. In particular, strong modes of low-frequency variability arise in many parameter regimes, and these modes depend upon the presence of ocean eddies in the simulation. The dependence upon eddies may be due to either an eddy--mean flow feedback loop, or else may occur because of oscillations in the mean flow which contains strong nonlinear features due to the cumulative effect of the eddy field. Both of these possibilities are explored. In addition it is shown (using a coupled version of the model) that this intrinsic ocean variability may contribute to midlatitude climate variability.

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LOM Users' Workshop, February 9-11, 2004