A Numerical Study of the Response of an Idealized Ocean to Large-Scale Surface Heat and Momentum Flux

Abstract

A numerical model of a 6-level, baroclinic ocean with a flat bottom and a regular coast line extending from 51.25S to 48.75N is integrated over 125 years of simulated time using a finite-difference analog of the primitive equations. The surface atmospheric conditions which drive the circulation, both mechanically and thermally, are prescribed and depend on latitude only. The numerical integration is done in two phases. In the first phase (100 years), the temperature is predicted from the complete thermal energy equation, while the equations of horizontal motion are linear and the vertical mean current is constant in time. In the second phase (25 years), the complete primitive equations are used, and the coefficients of eddy viscosity and eddy conductivity are reduced.