Other
Scientific paper
Dec 1993
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1993angeo..11.1116j&link_type=abstract
Annales Geophysicae (ISSN 0992-7689), vol. 11, no. 11/12, p. 1116-1129
Other
1
Mixing Ratios, Ocean Currents, Ocean Models, Sea Surface Temperature, Tropical Regions, Pacific Ocean, Thermoclines, Wind Effects
Scientific paper
General circulation models (GCMs) of the equatorial Pacific have some common problems. Equatorial sea surface temperatures are too low in the east and the characteristic equatorial thermocline structure (rising isotherms in the east and a deep warm pool in the west) is not simulated very well. We have investigated the effects of two types of vertical mixing processes acting in the surface layers of these models. We consider mixing due to shear instabilities and wind stirring. Both processes are described by means of existing parameterization relations. They are represented in terms of vertical mixing both for temperature and momentum with functional relationships for the mixing coefficients. We have tested the impact of these mixing schemes on the surface tempertures or equivalently on the surface heat fluxes, on the equatorial thermocline and undercurrent. We find that shear instability mixing has a strong influence on the simulation of the strength and depth of the equatorial undercurrent. The presence of a wind stirring parameterization strongly reduces the error in the surface heat fluxes at the equator. An optimal equatorial GCM must include parameterizations for both types of vertical mixing. Advanced functional relations for the mixing coefficients are not superior to extremely simple ones.
Janssen Gemma
Kattenber A.
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