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Abstract:

© 2017 The Authors The role of mesoscale eddies is crucial for the ocean circulation and its energy budget. The sub-grid scale eddy variability needs to be parametrized in ocean models, even at so-called eddy permitting resolutions. Porta Mana and Zanna (2014) propose an eddy parametrization based on a non-Newtonian stress which depends on the partially resolved scales and their variability. In the present study, we test two versions of the parametrization, one deterministic and one stochastic, at coarse and eddy-permitting resolutions in a double gyre quasi-geostrophic model. The parametrization leads to drastic improvements in the mean state and variability of the ocean state, namely in the jet rectification and the kinetic-energy spectra as a function of wavenumber and frequency for eddy permitting models. The parametrization also appears to have a stabilizing effect on the model, especially the stochastic version. The parametrization possesses attractive features for implementation in global models: very little computational cost, it is flow aware and uses the properties of the underlying flow. The deterministic coefficient is scale-aware, while the stochastic parameter is scale- and flow-aware with dependence on resolution, stratification and wind forcing.

Abstract:

©2017. The Authors. The impact of uncertainties in air-sea fluxes and ocean model parameters on the ocean circulation and ocean heat uptake (OHU) is assessed in a novel modeling framework. We use an ocean-only model forced with the simulated sea surface fields of the CMIP5 climate models. The simulations are performed using control and 1% CO 2 warming scenarios. The ocean-only ensemble adequately reproduces the mean Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) and the zonally integrated OHU. The ensemble spread in AMOC strength, its weakening, and Atlantic OHU due to different air-sea fluxes is twice as large as the uncertainty range related to vertical and mesocale eddy diffusivities. The sensitivity of OHU to uncertainties in air-sea fluxes and model parameters differs vastly across basins, with the Southern Ocean exhibiting strong sensitivity to air-sea fluxes and model parameters. This study clearly demonstrates that model biases in air-sea fluxes are one of the key sources of uncertainty in climate simulations.

Abstract:

© 2016 American Meteorological Society. Multidecadal variability in the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) is shown to differ significantly between the 4 × CO 2 and preindustrial control simulations of the GFDL Earth System Model, version 2M (ESM2M) general circulation model (GCM). In the preindustrial simulation, this model has a peak in the power spectrum of both AMOC and northward heat transport at latitudes between 26° and 50°N. In the 4 × CO 2 simulation, the only significant spectral peak is near 60°N. Understanding these differences is important for understanding the effect of future climate change on climate variability, as well as for providing insight into the physics underlying AMOC variability. Transfer function analysis demonstrates that the shift is predominantly due to a shift in the internal ocean dynamics rather than a change in stochastic atmospheric forcing. Specifically, the reduction in variance from 26° to 45°N is due to an increased stratification east of Newfoundland that results from the shallower and weaker mean overturning. The reduced AMOC variance that accompanies the reduced mean value of the AMOC at 4 × CO 2 differs from predictions of simple box models that predict a weaker circulation to be closer to a stability bifurcation point and, therefore, be accompanied by amplified variability. The high-latitude variability in the 4 × CO 2 simulation is related to the advection of anomalies by the subpolar gyre, distinct from the variability mechanism in the control simulation at lower latitudes. The 4 × CO 2 variability has only a small effect on midlatitude meridional heat transport, but does significantly affect sea ice in the northern North Atlantic.

Abstract:

Stochastic parametrization provides a methodology for representing model uncertainty in ensemble forecasts. Here we study the impact of three existing stochastic parametrizations in the ocean component of a coupled model, on forecast reliability over seasonal timescales. The relative impacts of these schemes upon the ocean mean state and ensemble spread are analyzed. The oceanic variability induced by the atmospheric forcing of the coupled system is, in most regions, the major source of ensemble spread. The largest impact on spread and bias came from the Stochastically Perturbed Parametrization Tendency (SPPT) scheme - which has proven particularly effective in the atmosphere. The key regions affected are eddy-active regions, namely the western boundary currents and the Southern Ocean where ensemble spread is increased. However, unlike its impact in the atmosphere, SPPT in the ocean did not result in a significant decrease in forecast error. Whilst there are good grounds for implementing stochastic schemes in ocean models, our results suggest that they will have to be more sophisticated. Some suggestions for next-generation stochastic schemes are made.