Martin Claus

Ventilation of the equatorial Atlantic by the equatorial deep jets

Equatorial deep jets (EDJs) are a prominent flow feature of the equatorial Atlantic below the Equatorial Undercurrent down to about 3000 m. Here we analyze long-term moored velocity and oxygen observations, as well as shipboard hydrographic and current sections acquired along 23{degree sign}W and covering the depth range of the oxygen minimum zones of the eastern tropical North and South Atlantic. The moored zonal velocity data show high-baroclinic mode EDJ oscillations at a period of about 4.5 years. Equatorial oxygen observations which do not resolve or cover a full 4.5-yr EDJ cycle nevertheless reveal large variability, with oxygen concentrations locally spanning a range of more than 60 μmol kg−1. We study the effect of EDJs on the equatorial oxygen concentration by forcing an advection-diffusion model with the velocity field of the gravest equatorial basin mode corresponding to the observed EDJ cycle. The advection-diffusion model includes an oxygen source at the western boundary and oxygen consumption elsewhere. The model produces a 4.5-yr cycle of the oxygen concentration and a temporal phase difference between oxygen concentration and eastward velocity that is less than quadrature, implying a net eastward oxygen flux. The comparison of available observations and basin-mode simulations indicates that a substantial part of the observed oxygen variability at the equator can be explained by EDJ oscillations. The respective role of mean advection, EDJs, and other possible processes in shaping the mean oxygen distribution of the equatorial Atlantic at intermediate depth is discussed. Key Points: - Equatorial Deep Jets strongly affect oxygen distribution/variability - Mean oxygen ditribution in the equatorial Atlantic at intermediate depth - Gravest equatorial basin mode forces an advection-diffusion model

Transport driven by eddy momentum fluxes in the Gulf Stream Extension region

The importance of the Gulf Stream Extension region in climate and seasonal prediction research is being increasingly recognised. Here we use satellite-derived eddy momentum fluxes to drive a shallow water model for the North Atlantic Ocean that includes the realistic ocean bottom topography. The results show that the eddy momentum fluxes can drive significant transport, sufficient to explain the observed increase in transport of the Gulf Stream following its separation from the coast at Cape Hatteras, as well as the observed recirculation gyres. The model also captures recirculating gyres seen in the mean sea surface height field within the North Atlantic Current system east of the Grand Banks of Newfoundland, including a representation of the Mann Eddy.

On the Width of the Equatorial Deep Jets

The equatorial deep jets (EDJ) are a striking feature of the equatorial ocean circulation. In the Atlantic Ocean, the EDJ are associated with a vertical scale of between 300 and 700 m, a time scale of roughly 4.5 years and upward energy propagation to the surface and thus are contributing to the interannual climate variability in the equatorial Atlantic region. However, it has been found that the meridional width of the EDJ is roughly 1.5 times larger than expected based on their vertical scale. Here a representation of a equatorial basin mode excited in a shallow water model for a single high order baroclinic vertical normal mode is used as a simple model for the EDJ. The model is linearised about both a state of rest and a barotropic mean flow resembling the Atlantic Equatorial Intermediate Current System with eastward flow at roughly 2◦ N and 2◦ S and westward flow in between and poleward of it. We argue that mixing of momentum along isopycnals can explain the enhanced width and a lateral eddy viscosity of 300 m^2 s−1 is found to be sufficient to account for the width implied by observations. The underlying eastward mean flow effectively shields the equator from off-equatorial Rossby waves, blocking the westward propagation of these waves that are generated by the reflection of equatorial Kelvin waves at the eastern boundary.

Annual and Semiannual Cycle of Equatorial Atlantic Circulation Associated with Basin-Mode Resonance

Seasonal variability of the tropical Atlantic circulation is dominated by the annual cycle, but semi-annual variability is also pronounced, despite weak forcing at that period. Here we use multi-year, full-depth velocity measurements from the central equatorial Atlantic to analyze the vertical structure of annual and semi-annual variations of zonal velocity. A baroclinic modal decomposition finds that the annual cycle is dominated by the 4th mode and the semi-annual cycle by the 2nd mode. Similar local behavior is found in a high-resolution general circulation model. This simulation reveals that the annual and semi-annual cycles of the respective dominant baroclinic modes are associated with characteristic basin-wide structures. Using an idealized linear reduced-gravity model to simulate the dynamics of individual baroclinic modes, it is shown that the observed circulation variability can be explained by resonant equatorial basin modes. Corollary simulations of the reduced-gravity model with varying basin geometry (i.e. square basin versus realistic coastlines) or forcing (i.e. spatially uniform versus spatially variable wind) show a structural robustness of the simulated basin modes. A main focus of this study is the seasonal variability of the Equatorial Undercurrent (EUC) as identified in recent observational studies. Main characteristics of the observed EUC including seasonal variability of transport, core depth, and maximum core velocity can be explained by the linear superposition of the dominant equatorial basin modes as obtained from the reduced-gravity model.

Influence of the equatorial deep jets on the north equatorial countercurrent

An ocean circulation model is run using two different idealized equatorial basin configurations under steady wind forcing. Both model versions produce bands of vertically alternating zonal flow at depth, similar to observed Equatorial Deep Jets (EDJs) and with a time scale corresponding to that of the gravest equatorial basin mode for the dominant baroclinic vertical normal mode. Both model runs show evidence for enhanced variability in the surface signature of the North Equatorial Counter Current (NECC) with the same time scale. We also find the same link between the observed NECC and the EDJs in the Atlantic by comparing the signature of the EDJ in moored zonal velocity data at 23° W on the equator with the signature of the NECC in geostrophic velocities from altimeter data. We argue that the presence of a peak in variability in the NECC associated with the EDJ basin mode period is evidence that the influenceatthis time scale is upward, from the EDJ to the NECC.

Influence of the Barotropic Mean Flow on the Width and the Structure of the Atlantic Equatorial Deep Jets

A representation of an equatorial basin mode excited in a shallow water model for a single high order baroclinic vertical normal mode is used as a simple model for the equatorial deep jets. The model is linearized about both a state of rest and a barotropic mean flow corresponding to the observed Atlantic Equatorial Intermediate Current System. We found that the eastward mean flow associated with the North and South Intermediate Counter Currents (NICC and SICC, respectively) effectively shields the Equator from off-equatorial Rossby waves. The westward propagation of these waves is blocked and focusing on the Equator due to beta dispersion is prevented. This leads to less energetic jets along the Equator. On the other hand, the westward barotropic mean flow along the Equator reduces the gradient of absolute vorticity and hence widens the cross-equatorial structure of the basin mode. Increasing lateral viscosity predominantly affects the width of the basin modes’ Kelvin wave component in the presence of the mean flow while the Rossby wave is confined by the flanking NICC and SICC. Independent of the presence of the mean flow, the application of sufficient lateral mixing also hinders the focusing of off-equatorial Rossby waves, which is hence an unlikely feature of a low-frequency basin mode in the real ocean.

Forcing of the Atlantic equatorial deep jets derived from observations

The Equatorial Deep Jets (EDJs) are an ubiquitous feature of the equatorial oceans; in the Atlantic Ocean, they are the dominant mode of interannual variability of the zonal flow at intermediate depth. On the basis of more than 10 years of moored observations of zonal velocity at 23°W, the vertically propagating EDJs are best described as superimposed oscillations of the 13th to the 23th baroclinic modes with a dominant oscillation period for all modes of 1650 days. This period is close to the resonance period of the respective gravest equatorial basin mode for the dominant vertical modes 16 and 17. It is argued that since the equatorial basin mode is composed of linear equatorial waves, a linear reduced gravity model can be employed for each baroclinic mode, driven by spatially homogeneous zonal forcing oscillating with the EDJ period. The fit of the model solutions to observations at 23°W yields a basin wide reconstruction of the EDJs and the associated vertical structure of their forcing. From the resulting vertical profile of mean power input and vertical energy flux on the equator, it follows that the EDJs are locally maintained over a considerable depth range, from 500-2500 m, with the maximum power input and vertical energy flux at 1300 m. The strong dissipation closely ties the apparent vertical propagation of energy to the vertical distribution of power input and, together with the EDJs’ prevailing downward phase propagation, require the phase of the forcing of the EDJs to propagate downward.

Interannual variability of tropical Pacific sea level from 1993 to 2014

A multi-mode, linear reduced-gravity model, driven by ERA-Interim monthly mean wind stress anomalies, is used to investigate interannual variability in tropical Pacific sea level as seen in satellite altimeter data. The model output is fitted to the altimeter data along the equator, in order to derive the vertical profile for the model forcing, showing that a signature from modes higher than mode six cannot be extracted from the altimeter data. It is shown that the model has considerable skill at capturing interannual sea level variability both on and off the equator. The correlation between modelled and satellite-derived sea level data exceeds 0.8 over a wide range of longitudes along the equator and readily captures the observed ENSO events. Overall, the combination of the first, second, third and fifth modes can provide a robust estimate of the interannual sea level variability, the second mode being dominant. A remarkable feature of both the model and the altimeter data is the presence of a pivot point in the western Pacific on the equator. We show that the westward displacement of the pivot point from the centre of the basin is strongly influenced by the fact that most of the wind stress variance is found in the western part of the basin. We also show that the Sverdrup transport is not fundamental to the dynamics of the recharge/discharge mechanism in our model, although the spatial structure of the wind forcing does play a role in setting the amplitude of the “warm water volume”.

Towards a seamlessly diagnosable expression for the energy flux associated with both equatorial and mid-latitude waves

For mid-latitude Rossby waves (RWs) in the atmosphere, the expression for the energy flux for use in a model diagnosis, and without relying on a Fourier analysis or a ray theory, has previously been derived using quasi-geostrophic equations and is singular at the equator. By investigating the analytical solution of both equatorial and mid-latitude waves, the authors derive an exact universal expression for the energy flux which is able to indicate the direction of the group velocity at all latitudes for linear shallow water waves. This is achieved by introducing a streamfunction as given by the inversion equation of Ertel’s potential vorticity, a novel aspect for considering the energy flux. For ease of diagnosis from a model, an approximate version of the universal expression is explored and illustrated for a forced/dissipative equatorial basin mode simulated by a single-layer oceanic model that includes both mid-latitude RWs and equatorial waves. Equatorial Kelvin Waves (KWs) propagate eastward along the equator, are partially redirected poleward as coastal KWs at the eastern boundary of the basin, and then shed mid-latitude RWs that propagate westward into the basin interior. The connection of the equatorial and coastal waveguides has been successfully illustrated by the approximate expression of the group-velocity-based energy flux of the present study. This will allow for tropical-extratropical interactions in oceanic and atmospheric model outputs to be diagnosed in terms of an energy cycle in a future study.

Reconstructing Tropical Pacific Sea Level Variability for the Period 1961-2002 Using a Linear Multimode Model

Monthly mean sea level anomalies in the tropical Pacific for the period 1961-2002 are reconstructed using a linear, multi-mode model driven by monthly mean wind stress anomalies from the NCEP/NCAR and ERA-40 reanalysis products. Overall, the sea level anomalies reconstructed by both wind stress products agree well with the available tide gauge data, although with poor performance at Kanton Island in the western-central equatorial Pacific and reduced amplitude at Christmas Island. The reduced performance is related to model error in locating the pivot point in sea level variability associated with the so-called “tilt” mode. We present evidence that the pivot point was further west during the period 1993-2014 than during the period 1961-2002 and attribute this to a persistent upward trend in the zonal wind stress variance along the equator west of 160° W throughout the period 1961-2014. Experiments driven by the zonal component of the wind stress alone reproduce much of the trend in sea level found in the experiments driven by both components of the wind stress. The experiments show an upward trend in sea level in the eastern tropical Pacific over the period 1961-2002, but with a much stronger upward trend when using the NCEP/NCAR product. We argue that the latter is related to an overly strong eastward trend in zonal wind stress in the eastern-central Pacific that is believed to be a spurious feature of the NCEP/NCAR product.