The dependence of global ocean modeling on background diapycnal mixing

Abstract

The Argo-derived background diapycnal mixing (BDM) proposed by Deng et al. (in publish) is introduced to and applied in Hybrid Coordinate Ocean Model (HYCOM). Sensitive experiments are carried out using HYCOM to detect the responses of ocean surface temperature and Meridional Overturning Circulation (MOC) to BDM in a global context. Preliminary results show that utilizing a constant BDM, with the same order of magnitude as the realistic one, may cause significant deviation in temperature and MOC. It is found that the dependence of surface temperature and MOC on BDM is prominent. Surface temperature is decreased with the increase of BDM, because diapycnal mixing can promote the deep cold water return to the upper ocean. Comparing to the control run, more striking MOC changes can be caused by the larger variation in BDM. © 2014 Zengan Deng.