Parameterization improvements in an eddy-permitting ocean model for climate

Abstract

Different parameterizations for vertical mixing and the effects of ocean mesoscale eddies are tested in an eddy-permitting ocean model. It has a horizontal resolution averaging about 0.7° and was used as the ocean component of the parallel climate model. The old ocean parameterizations used in that coupled model were replaced by the newer parameterizations used in the climate system model. Both ocean-alone and fully coupled integrations were run for at least 100 years. The results clearly show that the drifts in the upper-ocean temperature profile using the old parameterizations are substantially reduced in both sets of integrations using the newer parameterizations. The sea-ice distribution in the fully coupled integration using the newer ocean parameterizations is also improved. However, the sea-ice distribution is sensitive to both sea-ice parameterizations and the atmospheric forcing, in addition to being dependent on the ocean simulation. The newer ocean parameterizations have been shown to improve considerably the solutions in non-eddy-resolving configurations, such as in the climate system model, where the horizontal resolution of the ocean component is about 2°. The work presented here is a clear demonstration that the improvements continue into the eddy-permitting regime, where the ocean component has an average horizontal resolution of less than 1°.