DMCA
Baroclinic and Barotropic Aspects of the Wind-Driven Ocean Circulation (1999)
| Citations: | 21 - 15 self |
BibTeX
@MISC{Ghil99baroclinicand,
author = {M. Ghil and Y. Feliks and L. U. Sushama},
title = {Baroclinic and Barotropic Aspects of the Wind-Driven Ocean Circulation},
year = {1999}
}
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Abstract
The double-gyre circulation induced by a symmetric wind stress pattern in a quasi-geostrophic model of the mid-latitude ocean is studied analytically and numerically. The model is discretized vertically by projection onto normal modes of the mean stratification. Within its horizontally rectangular domain, the numerical model captures the wind-driven circulation's three dynamic regimes: (1) A basinscale double-gyre circulation, cyclonic in the basin's northern part and anticyclonic in the south, and dominated by Sverdrup balance; (2) a swift western boundary current in either gyre, with dissipation most important near the coast and inertial balance further out; and (3) a strong recirculating dipole near the intersection of the western boundary with the symmetry line of zero wind-stress curl. The flow inside this stationary dipole is highly nonlinear, and equivalent-barotropic. An analytical solution to the potential vorticity equation with variable stratification describes the dipole, and fits well the full numerical model's steady-state solutions.
Keyphrases
barotropic aspect wind-driven ocean circulation rectangular domain mid-latitude ocean double-gyre circulation mean stratification quasi-geostrophic model full numerical model symmetry line sverdrup balance steady-state solution wind-stress curl symmetric wind stress pattern analytical solution numerical model northern part potential vorticity equation normal mode western boundary inertial balance strong recirculating dipole wind-driven circulation basinscale double-gyre circulation variable stratification dynamic regime stationary dipole flow inside
