Assimilation of altimetry data in a high-resolution limited-area primitive equation model of the Southern Ocean ...

• Main Author: Woolf, Andrew
• Format: Thesis
• Language: unknown
• Published: University Of Tasmania 2023
• Subjects: Antarctic; Indian; Southern Ocean; The Antarctic; Antarc*
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.25959/23241647; https://figshare.utas.edu.au/articles/thesis/Assimilation_of_altimetry_data_in_a_high-resolution_limited-area_primitive_equation_model_of_the_Southern_Ocean/23241647

An eddy-permitting (44 km at 50°S) numerical model of the open ocean south of Australia is combined with satellite altimetry data in an assimilation study of Southern Ocean dynamics. The domain chosen is from 110 to 190° East and 30 to 70° South, encompassing both the Southeast Indian and Macquarie Ridge complexes. This region is thought to play an important role in the momentum balance of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) and meridional heat and freshwater exchanges. The Hamburg Ocean Primitive Equation (HOPE) model (Wolff et al. 1997) is an implicit free-surface primitive-equation model discretised on an Arakawa E-grid. It is modified to operate in an open boundary configuration. For the barotropic mode, the open boundary condition is based on characteristic variables and extends the condition proposed by Flather (1976). The boundary condition preserves water volume while allowing the transmission of shallow-water gravity waves, an important feature with sequential data assimilation. ...