Application of an Inverse Model in the Community Modeling Effort Results.
Abstract
An inverse model (IM) consisting of approximate thermal wind balance and steady state conservation laws for mass, heat, and salt was examined in (1) a non-eddy resolving GCM ocean, (2) the 5-year time means of an eddy-resolving GCM (EGCM) ocean with a fine grid resolution, and (3) the spatially smoothed time means of the EGCM ocean with a coarse grid resolution. Assumptions of the IM were approximately satisfied by (1), (2), and (3), but residuals in conservation equations were comarable to (eddy) diffusion terms in deep ocean. IM estimates for horizontal circulation were robust - they were consistent with the circulation in (1), the time-mean circulation in (2), and the spatially smoothed time-mean circulation in (3) most of the time. Effects of the data noise were more easily seen on solutions for (eddy) diffusion coefficients. Discrepancies between conclusions of this work and previous studies were explained. Data noise in the coarse grid resolution was partially caused by subsampling. This aliasing was greatly reduced by spatial smoothing. IM solutions were sensitive to vertical level numbers while insensitive to horizontal domain size. Properly representing the (vertical) profiles of hydrographic data was essential in getting the correct answers. (AN)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Feb 01, 1995
- Accession Number
- ADA305883
Entities
People
- Huai-min Zhang
Organizations
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology