Reconstructing the Ocean's Interior from Surface Data

• Published in: Journal of Physical Oceanography
• Main Authors: Wang, Jinbo, LaCasce, Joseph H., McClean, Julie L., Mahadevan, Amala, Flierl, Glenn Richard
• Other Authors: Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: American Meteorological Society 2013
• Subjects: North Atlantic
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/87786

A new method is proposed for extrapolating subsurface velocity and density fields from sea surface density and sea surface height (SSH). In this, the surface density is linked to the subsurface fields via the surface quasigeostrophic (SQG) formalism, as proposed in several recent papers. The subsurface field is augmented by the addition of the barotropic and first baroclinic modes, whose amplitudes are determined by matching to the sea surface height (pressure), after subtracting the SQG contribution. An additional constraint is that the bottom pressure anomaly vanishes. The method is tested for three regions in the North Atlantic using data from a high-resolution numerical simulation. The decomposition yields strikingly realistic subsurface fields. It is particularly successful in energetic regions like the Gulf Stream extension and at high latitudes where the mixed layer is deep, but it also works in less energetic eastern subtropics. The demonstration highlights the possibility of reconstructing three-dimensional oceanic flows using a combination of satellite fields, for example, sea surface temperature (SST) and SSH, and sparse (or climatological) estimates of the regional depth-resolved density. The method could be further elaborated to integrate additional subsurface information, such as mooring measurements. United States. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NNX12AD47G) National Science Foundation (U.S.) (OCE 0928617) National Science Foundation (U.S.) (OCE-0752346)