the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. Ocean Science Depth dependence of westward-propagating North Atlantic features diagnosed from altimetry and a numerical 1/6 ◦ model
Abstract. A 1/6 ◦ numerical simulation is used to investigate the vertical structure of westward propagation between 1993 and 2000 in the North Atlantic ocean. The realism of the simulated westward propagating signals, interpreted princi-pally as the signature of first-mode baroclinic Rossby waves (...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Text |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2008
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.652.8188 http://www.ocean-sci.net/4/99/2008/os-4-99-2008.pdf |
| Summary: | Abstract. A 1/6 ◦ numerical simulation is used to investigate the vertical structure of westward propagation between 1993 and 2000 in the North Atlantic ocean. The realism of the simulated westward propagating signals, interpreted princi-pally as the signature of first-mode baroclinic Rossby waves (RW), is first assessed by comparing the simulated ampli-tude and zonal phase speeds of Sea Level Anomalies (SLA) against TOPEX/Poseidon-ERS satellite altimeter data. Then, the (unobserved) subsurface signature of RW phase speeds is investigated from model outputs by means of the Radon Transform which was specifically adapted to focus on first-mode baroclinic RW. The analysis is performed on observed and simulated SLA and along 9 simulated isopycnal dis-placements spanning the 0–3250 m depth range. Simulated RW phase speeds agree well with their observed counter- |
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