Formulation of a new ocean salinity boundary condition and impact on the simulated climate of an oceanic general circulation model
The salinity boundary condition at the ocean surface plays an important role in the stability of long-term integrations of an oceanic general circulation model (OGCM) and in determining its equilibrium solutions. This study presents a new formulation of the salt flux calculation at the ocean surface...
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Published in | Science China. Earth sciences Vol. 60; no. 3; pp. 491 - 500 |
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Main Authors | , , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
Beijing
Science China Press
01.03.2017
Springer Nature B.V |
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | The salinity boundary condition at the ocean surface plays an important role in the stability of long-term integrations of an oceanic general circulation model (OGCM) and in determining its equilibrium solutions. This study presents a new formulation of the salt flux calculation at the ocean surface based on physical processes of salt exchange at the air-sea interface. The formulation improves the commonly used virtual salt flux with constant reference salinity by allowing for spatial correlations between surface freshwater flux and sea-surface salinity while preserving the conservation of global salinity. The new boundary condition is implemented in the latest version of the National Key Laboratory of NumericaI Modeling for Atmospheric Sciences and Geophysical Fluid Dynamics/Institute of Atmospheric Physics Climate Ocean Model version 2 (LICOM2.0). The impact of the new boundary condition on the equilibrium simulations of the model is presented. It is shown that the new formulation leads to a stronger Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) that is closer to observational estimates. It also slightly improves poleward heat transport by the oceans in both the Atlantic and the global oceans. |
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Bibliography: | The salinity boundary condition at the ocean surface plays an important role in the stability of long-term integrations of an oceanic general circulation model (OGCM) and in determining its equilibrium solutions. This study presents a new formulation of the salt flux calculation at the ocean surface based on physical processes of salt exchange at the air-sea interface. The formulation improves the commonly used virtual salt flux with constant reference salinity by allowing for spatial correlations between surface freshwater flux and sea-surface salinity while preserving the conservation of global salinity. The new boundary condition is implemented in the latest version of the National Key Laboratory of NumericaI Modeling for Atmospheric Sciences and Geophysical Fluid Dynamics/Institute of Atmospheric Physics Climate Ocean Model version 2 (LICOM2.0). The impact of the new boundary condition on the equilibrium simulations of the model is presented. It is shown that the new formulation leads to a stronger Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) that is closer to observational estimates. It also slightly improves poleward heat transport by the oceans in both the Atlantic and the global oceans. 11-5843/P OGCM, Surface salinity boundary condition, Virtual salinity flux, Upward salt flux from oceanic surface, AMOC ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 |
ISSN: | 1674-7313 1869-1897 |
DOI: | 10.1007/s11430-016-9004-4 |