Arctic Ocean circulation in an idealized numerical model

• Main Author: Sugimura, Peter Joseph
• Other Authors: Peter Winsor., Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution., Joint Program in Physical Oceanography, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences
• Format: Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: Massachusetts Institute of Technology 2008
• Subjects: Joint Program in Physical Oceanography; Earth; Atmospheric; and Planetary Sciences; Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution; Ocean circulation Arctic Ocean; Computer simulation; Arctic; Arctic Ocean
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/45722

Thesis (S.M.)--Joint Program in Physical Oceanography (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences; and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution), 2008. Includes bibliographical references (p. 57-58). The mid-to-deep Arctic Ocean is generally characterized by a cyclonic circulation, contained along shelves and ridges. Here we analyze the general Arctic circulation using an idealized numerical model consisting of a circular basin with two channels acting as inflow and outflow. We analyze the circulation (direction, strength and sensitivity) for wind forcing with and without bathymetry (ridges), and with and without stratification. We find that the circulation is modified drastically by both bathymetry and wind direction, where an altered wind field can change both the direction of the horizontal basin circulation as well as the strength of the inflow and outflow. The idealized circulations imply that the Arctic circulation, and the associated export of freshwater, can easily switch states in a changing climate. by Peter Joseph Sugimura. S.M.