Submesoscale Oceanic Currents in the Surface Layer and Interior

Abstract

This proposal is for continuing oceanic circulation research using the Regional OceanicModeling System (ROMS) by the team at UCLA. The focus is on submesoscale currents,addressing two principal questions: (1) How do surface fronts undergoing frontogenesis terminateat small scales? and (2) How does topographic vorticity generation populate theoceanic interior current patterns? These foci were encouraged by ONR program o?cers inresponse to a planning letter. Both of these topics are addressed by increasing the gridresolution in multiply nested domains, moving from our present practices with grid scales ofhundreds of meters down to tens of meters. Analyses of such simulations will provide dynamicallybased answers for these questions. These answers will guide experimental designand interpretation, as well as future improvements in operational Navy models.

Document Details

Document Type
DoD Grant Award
Publication Date
Aug 11, 2023
Source ID
N000142312812

Entities

People

  • James C. McWilliams

Organizations

  • Office of Naval Research
  • United States Navy
  • University of California, Los Angeles

Tags

Fields of Study

  • Environmental science

Readers

  • Coastal Oceanography
  • Distributed Systems and Data Platform Development
  • Systems Analysis and Design