Wind Driven Ocean Modeling and Ocean Model Development.
Abstract
Numerical simulations were performed with a 0.2 deg, two layer, free surface, primitive equation, ocean circulation model of the Gulf of Mexico with a realistic bottom topography and coastline. As in previous simulations, with idealized bottom topography and coastline, realistic Loop Current behavior could be obtained without wind forcing and with constant inflow through the Yucatan Straits. However, simulations with both wind and port forcing showed significantly more variation than those with port forcing alone. A similiar two layer model was set up for a North Atlantic region, from 20N, 82W to 48N, 30W, on a 0.25 by 0.2 deg grid. A 'Black Box' multigrid package was prepared for solving finite difference Helmholtz's equations with staggered grid Neumann boundary conditions in nonrectangular regions. In semi-implicit free surface primitive equation ocean models, it is competitive with other powerful iterative methods but slower than the direct Capacitance Matrix Technique. Several wind stress data sets were prepared for use in ocean models, based on global analysis products from FNOC and NMC, regional analysis products from FNOC, and ship observations. These data sets have been used to drive ocean circulation model of the World Ocean, the Indian Ocean, the North Atlantic, and the Western Mediterranean Sea. Keywords: Loop Current; Helmholtz solver; Multigrid method; Multilinear regression; and Wind stresses.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 1985
- Accession Number
- ADA161742
Entities
People
- Alan Wallcraft
- Darren Grant
- Tamara Townsend