The impact of model grid resolution on Gulf Stream dynamics in idealised simulations

• Main Author: Topić, Roko
• Other Authors: Šepić, Jadranka, Kjellsson, Joakim
• Format: Bachelor Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: Sveučilište u Splitu. Prirodoslovno-matematički fakultet. Odjel za fiziku. 2021
• Subjects: PRIRODNE ZNANOSTI. Geofizika; NATURAL SCIENCES. Geophysics; Gulf Stream; simulation; resolution; NEMO; Golfska struja; simulacija; rezolucija; Oceana; North Atlantic
• Online Access: https://zir.nsk.hr/islandora/object/pmfst:1373; https://urn.nsk.hr/urn:nbn:hr:166:569248; https://repozitorij.svkst.unist.hr/islandora/object/pmfst:1373; https://repozitorij.svkst.unist.hr/islandora/object/pmfst:1373/datastream/PDF

The Gulf Stream is one of the biggest and geohistorically most important currents in the world ocean. It emerges as a direct product of mechanical and thermodynamic forcing from the atmosphere and the ocean with the effect of planetary rotation having a major influence on the stream’s appearance. Specifically, in this work, the goal will be to compare different simulations of the North Atlantic Ocean using the NEMO ocean model which is based on a set of rules that describe the ocean dynamics - primitive equations. Simulations of an idealised domain, similar to the North Atlantic Ocean, with horizontal resolutions of \(1/2^{°}\), \(1/4^{°}\), \(1/10^{°}\) and \(1/20^{°}\) are used to reveal how the prescribed parameters and the model resolution affect the behavior of major currents. The location and the kinetic energy of the current will be determined leading to sufficing results when using the R20 (\(1/20^{°}\)) model as expected from a higher resolution setup while the low resolution runs will display an underdeveloped gyre, inadequate for practical application. Some interesting eddy-consequential perturbations and oscillations in current behavior will also be detected and discussed in this thesis. It is concluded that the general current behavior can be reliably simulated with a high resolution, simplified ocean model in a limited time-space domain. Golfska struja jedna je od najvećih i povijesno-geografski najznačajnijih morskih struja. Nastaje kao posljedica termodinamičkih i mehaničkih procesa u atmosferi i oceanu te pod utjecajem planetarne rotacije poprima svoj konačni oblik. Izmjena topline između sjevernog dijela Atlantskog oceana i nadkrovnog atmosferskog sloja ima poseban značaj za klimatski profil Europe i Sjeverne Amerike. U ovom radu, cilj je usporediti različite simulacije sjevernoatlantskog oceana pomoću NEMO (Nucleus for European Modelling of the Ocean) alata za modeliranje oceana koji slijedi skup jednadžbi koje određuju dinamiku mora - primitivne jednadžbe. Idealizirani model, usporedljiv sa ...