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Momentum Balance of the Wind-Driven and Meridional Overturning Circulation

Momentum Balance of the Wind-Driven and Meridional Overturning Circulation When a force is applied to the ocean, fluid parcels are accelerated both locally, by the applied force, and non-locally, by the pressure gradient forces established to maintain continuity and satisfy the kinematic boundary condition. The net acceleration can be represented through a ““rotational force”” in the rotational component of the momentum equation. This approach elucidates the correspondence between momentum and vorticity descriptions of the large-scale ocean circulation: if two terms balance point-wise in the rotational momentum equation, then the equivalent two terms balance point-wise in the vorticity equation. The utility of the approach is illustrated for three classical problems: barotropic Rossby waves, wind-driven circulation in a homogeneous basin, and the meridional overturning circulation in an inter-hemispheric basin. In the hydrostatic limit, it is shown that the rotational forces further decompose into depth-integrated forces that drive the wind-driven gyres and overturning forces that are confined to the basin boundaries and drive the overturning circulation. Potential applications of the approach to diagnosing the output of ocean circulation models, alternative and more accurate formulations of numerical ocean models, the dynamics of boundary layer separation, and eddy forcing of the large-scale ocean circulation are discussed. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Journal of Physical Oceanography American Meteorological Society

Momentum Balance of the Wind-Driven and Meridional Overturning Circulation

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References (33)

Publisher
American Meteorological Society
Copyright
Copyright © 2011 American Meteorological Society
ISSN
1520-0485
DOI
10.1175/2011JPO4528.1
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

When a force is applied to the ocean, fluid parcels are accelerated both locally, by the applied force, and non-locally, by the pressure gradient forces established to maintain continuity and satisfy the kinematic boundary condition. The net acceleration can be represented through a ““rotational force”” in the rotational component of the momentum equation. This approach elucidates the correspondence between momentum and vorticity descriptions of the large-scale ocean circulation: if two terms balance point-wise in the rotational momentum equation, then the equivalent two terms balance point-wise in the vorticity equation. The utility of the approach is illustrated for three classical problems: barotropic Rossby waves, wind-driven circulation in a homogeneous basin, and the meridional overturning circulation in an inter-hemispheric basin. In the hydrostatic limit, it is shown that the rotational forces further decompose into depth-integrated forces that drive the wind-driven gyres and overturning forces that are confined to the basin boundaries and drive the overturning circulation. Potential applications of the approach to diagnosing the output of ocean circulation models, alternative and more accurate formulations of numerical ocean models, the dynamics of boundary layer separation, and eddy forcing of the large-scale ocean circulation are discussed.

Journal

Journal of Physical OceanographyAmerican Meteorological Society

Published: Jan 24, 2011

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