Ocean response to strong precipitation events in the Gulf of Lions (northwestern Mediterranean Sea): a sensitivity study

Autor: Cindy Lebeaupin Brossier, Philippe Drobinski, Karine Béranger
Přispěvatelé: Laboratoire de Météorologie Dynamique (UMR 8539) (LMD), Département des Géosciences - ENS Paris, École normale supérieure - Paris (ENS Paris), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-École normale supérieure - Paris (ENS Paris), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-École des Ponts ParisTech (ENPC)-École polytechnique (X)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC), École Nationale Supérieure de Techniques Avancées (ENSTA Paris), MORCE-MED (GIS 'Climat, Environnement et Société'), SiMed (GMMC), GENCI IDRIS (projet i2009010227), Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-École polytechnique (X)-École des Ponts ParisTech (ENPC)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Département des Géosciences - ENS Paris, École normale supérieure - Paris (ENS-PSL), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-École normale supérieure - Paris (ENS-PSL), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2012
Předmět:
Zdroj: Ocean Dynamics
Ocean Dynamics, Springer Verlag, 2012, 62 (2), pp.213-226. ⟨10.1007/s10236-011-0502-8⟩
Ocean Dynamics, 2012, 62 (2), pp.213-226. ⟨10.1007/s10236-011-0502-8⟩
ISSN: 1616-7341
1616-7228
Popis: International audience; The Mediterranean Sea is a region of intense air-sea interactions, with in particular strong evaporation over sea which drives the thermohaline circulation. The Mediterranean region is also prone to strong precipitation events characterized by low spatial extent, short duration, and high temporal variability. The impacts of intense offshore precipitation over sea, in the Gulf of Lions which is a spot for winter deep convection, are investigated using four sensitivity simulations performed at mesoscale resolution with the eddy-resolving regional ocean model NEMO-MED12. We use various atmospheric fields to force NEMO-MED12, downscaled from reanalyses with the non-hydrostatic mesoscale Weather Research and Forecasting model but differing in space resolutions (20 and 6.7 km) or in time frequencies (daily and three-hourly). This numerical study evidences that immediate, intense, and rapid freshening occurs under strong precipitation events. The strong salinity anomaly induced extends horizontally (~50 km) as vertically (down to 50 m) and persists several days after strong precipitation events. The change in the space resolution of the atmospheric forcing modifies the precipitating patterns and intensity, as well as the shape and the dynamics of the low-salinity layer formed are changed. With higher forcing frequency, shorter and heavier precipitation falls in the ocean in the center of the Gulf of Lions, and due to a stronger vertical shear and mixing, the low-salinity anomaly propagates deeper.
Databáze: OpenAIRE
Externí odkaz: