Reconstructing the Ocean's Interior from Surface Data
Name
Wang-2013-Reconstructing the O.pdf
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2.61 MB
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Checksum (MD5)
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Author(s)
McClean, Julie L.
Mahadevan, Amala
Flierl, Glenn Richard
Wang, Jinbo, Ph. D. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
LaCasce, Joseph H., 1964-
Date Issued
August 2013
Journal
Journal of Physical Oceanography
Publisher
American Meteorological Society
Citation
Wang, Jinbo, Glenn R. Flierl, Joseph H. LaCasce, Julie L. McClean, and Amala Mahadevan. “Reconstructing the Ocean’s Interior from Surface Data.” J. Phys. Oceanogr. 43, no. 8 (August 2013): 1611–1626. © 2013 American Meteorological Society
Version
Final published version
Abstract
A new method is proposed for extrapolating subsurface velocity and density fields from sea surface density and sea surface height (SSH). In this, the surface density is linked to the subsurface fields via the surface quasigeostrophic (SQG) formalism, as proposed in several recent papers. The subsurface field is augmented by the addition of the barotropic and first baroclinic modes, whose amplitudes are determined by matching to the sea surface height (pressure), after subtracting the SQG contribution. An additional constraint is that the bottom pressure anomaly vanishes. The method is tested for three regions in the North Atlantic using data from a high-resolution numerical simulation. The decomposition yields strikingly realistic subsurface fields. It is particularly successful in energetic regions like the Gulf Stream extension and at high latitudes where the mixed layer is deep, but it also works in less energetic eastern subtropics. The demonstration highlights the possibility of reconstructing three-dimensional oceanic flows using a combination of satellite fields, for example, sea surface temperature (SST) and SSH, and sparse (or climatological) estimates of the regional depth-resolved density. The method could be further elaborated to integrate additional subsurface information, such as mooring measurements.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences
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Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use.
Persistent DSpace Link
DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1175/jpo-d-12-0204.1
