Thermal forcing for a global ocean circulation model using a three-year climatology of ECMWF analyses

Abstract

A surface thermal boundary condition for a world ocean model is proposed. The formulation is based on previous methods which have used bulk formulas to define a model-dependent correction to the air-sea fluxes applied to the model. An estimate of the flux correction is calculated from a recent 3-year climatology of atmospheric surface fields provided by the 6-hour analyses performed at the European Center for Medium-range Weather Forecasts. The mean correction term and its seasonnal cycle are analysed and compared to similar climatological quantities. © 1995.