Global Estimates of the Energy Transfer From the Wind to the Ocean, With Emphasis on Near‐Inertial Oscillations

Autor: J. Thomas Farrar, Dimitris Menemenlis, Andrew F. Thompson, María del Mar Flexas, Patrice Klein, Hector S. Torres, Hong Zhang
Rok vydání: 2019
Předmět:
Coriolis Effects
surface fluxes
010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences
MIT General Circulation Model
Mesoscale meteorology
Wind stress
Atmospheric Composition and Structure
kinetic energy budget
MITgcm
Oceanography
Atmospheric sciences
Kinetic energy
7. Clean energy
01 natural sciences
Eastern Boundary Currents
Geochemistry and Petrology
Earth and Planetary Sciences (miscellaneous)
Geodesy and Gravity
Air/Sea Interactions
Research Articles
inertial oscillations
0105 earth and related environmental sciences
Wind power
global ocean model
business.industry
Ocean current
General Circulation
wind power
Energy budget
Inertial wave
Air/Sea Constituent Fluxes
Mass Balance
Geophysics
Upper Ocean and Mixed Layer Processes
13. Climate action
Space and Planetary Science
Atmospheric Processes
Environmental science
Ocean Monitoring with Geodetic Techniques
Ocean/Atmosphere Interactions
business
Oceanography: Physical
Research Article
Zdroj: Journal of Geophysical Research. Oceans
Journal Of Geophysical Research-oceans (2169-9275) (American Geophysical Union (AGU)), 2019-08, Vol. 124, N. 8, P. 5723-5746
ISSN: 2169-9291
2169-9275
DOI: 10.1029/2018jc014453
Popis: Estimates of the kinetic energy transfer from the wind to the ocean are often limited by the spatial and temporal resolution of surface currents and surface winds. Here we examine the wind work in a pair of global, very high‐resolution (1/48° and 1/24°) MIT general circulation model simulations in Latitude‐Longitude‐polar Cap (LLC) configuration that provide hourly output at spatial resolutions of a few kilometers and include tidal forcing. A cospectrum analysis of wind stress and ocean surface currents shows positive contribution at large scales (>300 km) and near‐inertial frequency and negative contribution from mesoscales, tidal frequencies, and internal gravity waves. Larger surface kinetic energy fluxes are in the Kuroshio in winter at large scales (40 mW/m2) and mesoscales (−30 mW/m2). The Kerguelen region is dominated by large scale (∼20 mW/m2), followed by inertial oscillations in summer (13 mW/m2) and mesoscale in winter (−12 mW/m2). Kinetic energy fluxes from internal gravity waves (−0.1 to −9.9 mW/m2) are generally stronger in summer. Surface kinetic energy fluxes in the LLC simulations are 4.71 TW, which is 25–85% higher than previous global estimates from coarser (1/6–1/10°) general ocean circulation models; this is likely due to improved representation of wind variability (6‐hourly, 0.14°, operational European Center for Medium‐Range Weather Forecasts). However, the low wind power input to the near‐inertial frequency band obtained with LLC (0.16 TW) compared to global slab models suggests that wind variability on time scales less than 6 hr and spatial scales less than 15 km are critical to better representing the wind power input in ocean circulation models.
Key Points Surface kinetic energy fluxes from LLC simulations lead to 4.71 TW, this is 25–85% higher than previous global estimatesThere is positive contribution to wind power input (WPI) at large scale and near‐inertial (NI) band, and negative WPI at mesoscale, tidal frequencies and IGWsLow WPI at NI band (0.16 TW) suggests that wind variability on scales
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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