A Synthetic Float Analysis of Upper-Limb Meridional Overturning Circulation Interior Ocean Pathways in the Tropical/Subtropical Atlantic
Synthetic floats are released in an ocean general circulation model to study fluid pathways followed by the upper limb of the meridional overturning circulation from the subtropical South Atlantic to the subtropical North Atlantic. The floats are designed to track this fundamentally three-dimensiona...
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ftdtic:ADA593778 2023-05-15T17:32:05+02:00 A Synthetic Float Analysis of Upper-Limb Meridional Overturning Circulation Interior Ocean Pathways in the Tropical/Subtropical Atlantic Halliwell, Jr, G R Weisberg, R H Mayer, D A NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION MIAMI FL ATLANTIC OCEANOGRAPHIC AND METEOROLOGICAL LABS 2003-01 text/html http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/ADA593778 http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?&verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA593778 en eng http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/ADA593778 Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited. DTIC Physical and Dynamic Oceanography Numerical Mathematics *OCEAN CURRENTS *OCEAN MODELS ADVECTION ATLANTIC OCEAN BOUNDARY LAYER CASE STUDIES EQUATORIAL REGIONS EULER EQUATIONS FLOATS LAGRANGIAN FUNCTIONS NUMERICAL METHODS AND PROCEDURES UPWELLING SYNTHETIC FLOATS *MOC(MERIDIONAL OVERTURNING CIRCULATION) INTERIOR OCEAN PATHWAYS TROPICAL/SUBTROPICAL ATLANTIC VORTICITY HYCOM(HYBRID-COORDINATE OCEAN MODEL) NECC(NORTH EQUATORIAL COUNTERCURRENT) Text 2003 ftdtic 2016-02-24T13:40:13Z Synthetic floats are released in an ocean general circulation model to study fluid pathways followed by the upper limb of the meridional overturning circulation from the subtropical South Atlantic to the subtropical North Atlantic. The floats are designed to track this fundamentally three-dimensional, nonisentropic flow while sampling water properties and all terms of the equation governing the vertical component of relative vorticity. The low-resolution ocean simulations demonstrate how upper-limb flow navigates the complex, timedependent system of wind-driven gyres. Pathways that extend into the interior North Atlantic before entering the Caribbean Sea are emphasized over the more direct western boundary route. A large number of floats are released in the southern hemisphere to verify the importance of such interior pathways in the model and document key events that occur along them. Upper limb water first approaches the equator in a modified inertial western boundary layer. Equatorial processes (visco-inertial boundary layer dynamics, upwelling, heating) are necessary to reset water properties and permit fluid to permanently cross the equator, typically requiring eastward retroflection into the EUC. After upwelling at the equator, fluid that does not advect northward or southward into the interior returns to the western boundary and turns northward in a frictional western boundary layer. The generation of negative relative vorticity by planetary vorticity advection can break the boundary layer constraint and permit retroflection into the NECC near 5 N from late spring through fall. Prepared in cooperation with the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, University of Miami,, Fl, and the College of Marine Science, University of South Florida, St. Petersburg, FL. Text North Atlantic Defense Technical Information Center: DTIC Technical Reports database |
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Open Polar |
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Defense Technical Information Center: DTIC Technical Reports database |
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ftdtic |
language |
English |
topic |
Physical and Dynamic Oceanography Numerical Mathematics *OCEAN CURRENTS *OCEAN MODELS ADVECTION ATLANTIC OCEAN BOUNDARY LAYER CASE STUDIES EQUATORIAL REGIONS EULER EQUATIONS FLOATS LAGRANGIAN FUNCTIONS NUMERICAL METHODS AND PROCEDURES UPWELLING SYNTHETIC FLOATS *MOC(MERIDIONAL OVERTURNING CIRCULATION) INTERIOR OCEAN PATHWAYS TROPICAL/SUBTROPICAL ATLANTIC VORTICITY HYCOM(HYBRID-COORDINATE OCEAN MODEL) NECC(NORTH EQUATORIAL COUNTERCURRENT) |
spellingShingle |
Physical and Dynamic Oceanography Numerical Mathematics *OCEAN CURRENTS *OCEAN MODELS ADVECTION ATLANTIC OCEAN BOUNDARY LAYER CASE STUDIES EQUATORIAL REGIONS EULER EQUATIONS FLOATS LAGRANGIAN FUNCTIONS NUMERICAL METHODS AND PROCEDURES UPWELLING SYNTHETIC FLOATS *MOC(MERIDIONAL OVERTURNING CIRCULATION) INTERIOR OCEAN PATHWAYS TROPICAL/SUBTROPICAL ATLANTIC VORTICITY HYCOM(HYBRID-COORDINATE OCEAN MODEL) NECC(NORTH EQUATORIAL COUNTERCURRENT) Halliwell, Jr, G R Weisberg, R H Mayer, D A A Synthetic Float Analysis of Upper-Limb Meridional Overturning Circulation Interior Ocean Pathways in the Tropical/Subtropical Atlantic |
topic_facet |
Physical and Dynamic Oceanography Numerical Mathematics *OCEAN CURRENTS *OCEAN MODELS ADVECTION ATLANTIC OCEAN BOUNDARY LAYER CASE STUDIES EQUATORIAL REGIONS EULER EQUATIONS FLOATS LAGRANGIAN FUNCTIONS NUMERICAL METHODS AND PROCEDURES UPWELLING SYNTHETIC FLOATS *MOC(MERIDIONAL OVERTURNING CIRCULATION) INTERIOR OCEAN PATHWAYS TROPICAL/SUBTROPICAL ATLANTIC VORTICITY HYCOM(HYBRID-COORDINATE OCEAN MODEL) NECC(NORTH EQUATORIAL COUNTERCURRENT) |
description |
Synthetic floats are released in an ocean general circulation model to study fluid pathways followed by the upper limb of the meridional overturning circulation from the subtropical South Atlantic to the subtropical North Atlantic. The floats are designed to track this fundamentally three-dimensional, nonisentropic flow while sampling water properties and all terms of the equation governing the vertical component of relative vorticity. The low-resolution ocean simulations demonstrate how upper-limb flow navigates the complex, timedependent system of wind-driven gyres. Pathways that extend into the interior North Atlantic before entering the Caribbean Sea are emphasized over the more direct western boundary route. A large number of floats are released in the southern hemisphere to verify the importance of such interior pathways in the model and document key events that occur along them. Upper limb water first approaches the equator in a modified inertial western boundary layer. Equatorial processes (visco-inertial boundary layer dynamics, upwelling, heating) are necessary to reset water properties and permit fluid to permanently cross the equator, typically requiring eastward retroflection into the EUC. After upwelling at the equator, fluid that does not advect northward or southward into the interior returns to the western boundary and turns northward in a frictional western boundary layer. The generation of negative relative vorticity by planetary vorticity advection can break the boundary layer constraint and permit retroflection into the NECC near 5 N from late spring through fall. Prepared in cooperation with the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, University of Miami,, Fl, and the College of Marine Science, University of South Florida, St. Petersburg, FL. |
author2 |
NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION MIAMI FL ATLANTIC OCEANOGRAPHIC AND METEOROLOGICAL LABS |
format |
Text |
author |
Halliwell, Jr, G R Weisberg, R H Mayer, D A |
author_facet |
Halliwell, Jr, G R Weisberg, R H Mayer, D A |
author_sort |
Halliwell, Jr, G R |
title |
A Synthetic Float Analysis of Upper-Limb Meridional Overturning Circulation Interior Ocean Pathways in the Tropical/Subtropical Atlantic |
title_short |
A Synthetic Float Analysis of Upper-Limb Meridional Overturning Circulation Interior Ocean Pathways in the Tropical/Subtropical Atlantic |
title_full |
A Synthetic Float Analysis of Upper-Limb Meridional Overturning Circulation Interior Ocean Pathways in the Tropical/Subtropical Atlantic |
title_fullStr |
A Synthetic Float Analysis of Upper-Limb Meridional Overturning Circulation Interior Ocean Pathways in the Tropical/Subtropical Atlantic |
title_full_unstemmed |
A Synthetic Float Analysis of Upper-Limb Meridional Overturning Circulation Interior Ocean Pathways in the Tropical/Subtropical Atlantic |
title_sort |
synthetic float analysis of upper-limb meridional overturning circulation interior ocean pathways in the tropical/subtropical atlantic |
publishDate |
2003 |
url |
http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/ADA593778 http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?&verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA593778 |
genre |
North Atlantic |
genre_facet |
North Atlantic |
op_source |
DTIC |
op_relation |
http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/ADA593778 |
op_rights |
Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited. |
_version_ |
1766130020331290624 |