No Arabic abstract
The development of a set of high-order accurate finite-volume formulations for evaluation of the pressure gradient force in layered ocean models is described. A pair of new schemes are presented, both based on an integration of the contact pressure force about the perimeter of an associated momentum control-volume. The two proposed methods differ in their choice of control-volume geometries. High-order accurate numerical integration techniques are employed in both schemes to account for non-linearities in the underlying equation-of-state definitions and thermodynamic profiles, and details of an associated vertical interpolation and quadrature scheme are discussed in detail. Numerical experiments are used to confirm the consistency of the two formulations, and it is demonstrated that the new methods maintain hydrostatic and thermobaric equilibrium in the presence of strongly-sloping layer-wise geometry, non-linear equation-of-state definitions and non-uniform vertical stratification profiles. Additionally, one scheme is shown to maintain high levels of consistency in the presence of non-linear thermodynamic stratification. Use of the new pressure gradient force formulations for hybrid vertical coordinate and/or terrain-following general circulation models is discussed.
This paper describes a reduced-order quasi-geostrophic coupled ocean-atmosphere model that allows for an arbitrary number of atmospheric and oceanic modes to be retained in the spectral decomposition. The modularity of this new model allows one to easily modify the model physics. Using this new model, coined the Modular Arbitrary-Order Ocean-Atmosphere Model (MAOOAM), we analyse the dependence of the model dynamics on the truncation level of the spectral expansion, and unveil spurious behaviour that may exist at low resolution by a comparison with the higher-resolution configurations. In particular, we assess the robustness of the coupled low-frequency variability when the number of modes is increased. An optimal configuration is proposed for which the ocean resolution is sufficiently high, while the total number of modes is small enough to allow for a tractable and extensive analysis of the dynamics.
The purpose of this article is numerical verification of the thory of weak turbulence. We performed numerical simulation of an ensemble of nonlinearly interacting free gravity waves (swell) by two different methods: solution of primordial dynamical equations describing potential flow of the ideal fluid with a free surface and, solution of the kinetic Hasselmann equation, describing the wave ensemble in the framework of the theory of weak turbulence. Comparison of the results demonstrates pretty good applicability of the weak turbulent approach.
The stability properties of intermediate-order climate models are investigated by computing their Lyapunov exponents (LEs). The two models considered are PUMA (Portable University Model of the Atmosphere), a primitive-equation simple general circulation model, and MAOOAM (Modular Arbitrary-Order Ocean-Atmosphere Model), a quasi-geostrophic coupled ocean-atmosphere model on a beta-plane. We wish to investigate the effect of the different levels of filtering on the instabilities and dynamics of the atmospheric flows. Moreover, we assess the impact of the oceanic coupling, the dissipation scheme and the resolution on the spectra of LEs. The PUMA Lyapunov spectrum is computed for two different values of the meridional temperature gradient defining the Newtonian forcing. The increase of the gradient gives rise to a higher baroclinicity and stronger instabilities, corresponding to a larger dimension of the unstable manifold and a larger first LE. The convergence rate of the rate functional for the large deviation law of the finite-time Lyapunov exponents (FTLEs) is fast for all exponents, which can be interpreted as resulting from the absence of a clear-cut atmospheric time-scale separation in such a model. The MAOOAM spectra show that the dominant atmospheric instability is correctly represented even at low resolutions. However, the dynamics of the central manifold, which is mostly associated to the ocean dynamics, is not fully resolved because of its associated long time scales, even at intermediate orders. This paper highlights the need to investigate the natural variability of the atmosphere-ocean coupled dynamics by associating rate of growth and decay of perturbations to the physical modes described using the formalism of the covariant Lyapunov vectors and to consider long integrations in order to disentangle the dynamical processes occurring at all time scales.
By performing two parallel numerical experiments -- solving the dynamical Hamiltonian equations and solving the Hasselmann kinetic equation -- we examined the applicability of the theory of weak turbulence to the description of the time evolution of an ensemble of free surface waves (a swell) on deep water. We observed qualitative coincidence of the results. To achieve quantitative coincidence, we augmented the kinetic equation by an empirical dissipation term modelling the strongly nonlinear process of white-capping. Fitting the two experiments, we determined the dissipation function due to wave breaking and found that it depends very sharply on the parameter of nonlinearity (the surface steepness). The onset of white-capping can be compared to a second-order phase transition. This result corroborates with experimental observations by Banner, Babanin, Young.
The mass balance of mountain glaciers is of interest for several applications (local hydrology or climate projections), and turbulent fluxes can be an important contributor to glacier surface mass balance during strong melting events. The underlying complex terrain leads to spatial heterogeneity and non-stationarity of turbulent fluxes. Due to the contribution of thermally-induced flows and gravity waves, exchange mechanisms are fully three-dimensional, instead of only vertical. Additionally, glaciers have their own distinct microclimate, governed by a down-glacier katabatic wind, which protects the glacier ice and interacts with the surrounding flows on multiple scales. In this study, we perform large-eddy simulations with the WRF model with dx=48 m to gain insight on the boundary-layer processes over an Alpine valley glacier, the Hintereisferner (HEF). We choose two case studies from a measurement campaign (August 2018) with different synoptic wind directions (South-West and North-West). Model evaluation with an array of eddy-covariance stations on the glacier tongue and surroundings reveals that WRF is able to simulate the general glacier boundary-layer structure. Under southwesterly airflow, the down-glacier wind is supported by the South-Western synoptic wind direction, a stable boundary layer is present over the ice surface, and local processes govern the turbulence kinetic energy production. Under northwesterly airflow, a cross-glacier valley flow and a breaking gravity wave lead strong turbulent mixing and to the subsequent erosion of the glacier boundary layer. Stationarity analyses of the sensible heat flux suggest non-stationary behaviour for both case study days, while non-stationarity is highest on the NW day during the gravity-wave event. These results suggest that the synoptic wind direction has, in addition to upstream topography and the atmospheric stability, a strong impact on whether a local glacier boundary layer can form or not, influencing whether a glacier is able to maintain its own microclimate.