Energetics of a Global Ocean Circulation Model Compared to Observations

Abstract

The majority of the eddy kinetic energy (EKE) in the ocean is found on scales of 50 km to 500 km, encompassed by mesoscale eddies and the meanders and rings of the boundary currents. Mesoscale eddies play a critical role in the dynamics of the ocean circulation with instabilities of the strong mean currents generating eddies in the upper ocean. Interactions between eddies transfer energy from the upper ocean to the deep ocean where eddies interact with bottom topography to generate abyssal mean flows and eddies transfer momentum back to the mean currents.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Aug 09, 2011
Accession Number
ADA548854

Entities

People

  • James G. Richman
  • Patrick J. Hogan
  • Prasad G. Thoppil

Organizations

  • United States Naval Research Laboratory

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Assimilation
  • Boundaries
  • Dynamics
  • Energy
  • Geostrophic Currents
  • Gulf Stream
  • High Resolution
  • Kinetic Energy
  • Military Research
  • North Atlantic Current
  • Observation
  • Ocean Currents
  • Oceanography
  • Oceans
  • Simulations
  • Topography

Fields of Study

  • Environmental science

Readers

  • Ocean-Atmosphere Mesoscale Modeling, Data Assimilation, and Flux Boundary Layers