On the Wind Power Input to the Ocean General Circulation
The wind power input to the ocean general circulation is usually calculated from the time-averaged wind products. Here, this wind power input is reexamined using available observations, focusing on the role of the synoptically varying wind. Power input to the ocean general circulation is found to in...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | en_US |
| Published: |
American Meteorological Society
2013
|
| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/77235 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6808-3664 |
| _version_ | 1811069504852066304 |
|---|---|
| author | Zhai, Xiaoming Johnson, Helen L. Marshall, David P. Wunsch, Carl Isaac |
| author2 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences |
| author_facet | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences Zhai, Xiaoming Johnson, Helen L. Marshall, David P. Wunsch, Carl Isaac |
| author_sort | Zhai, Xiaoming |
| collection | MIT |
| description | The wind power input to the ocean general circulation is usually calculated from the time-averaged wind products. Here, this wind power input is reexamined using available observations, focusing on the role of the synoptically varying wind. Power input to the ocean general circulation is found to increase by over 70% when 6-hourly winds are used instead of monthly winds. Much of the increase occurs in the storm-track regions of the Southern Ocean, Gulf Stream, and Kuroshio Extension. This result holds irrespective of whether the ocean surface velocity is accounted for in the wind stress calculation. Depending on the fate of the high-frequency wind power input, the power input to the ocean general circulation relevant to deep-ocean mixing may be less than previously thought. This study emphasizes the difficulty of choosing appropriate forcing for ocean-only models. |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-23T08:11:30Z |
| format | Article |
| id | mit-1721.1/77235 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| language | en_US |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-23T08:11:30Z |
| publishDate | 2013 |
| publisher | American Meteorological Society |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | mit-1721.1/772352024-05-15T02:18:03Z On the Wind Power Input to the Ocean General Circulation Zhai, Xiaoming Johnson, Helen L. Marshall, David P. Wunsch, Carl Isaac Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences Wunsch, Carl The wind power input to the ocean general circulation is usually calculated from the time-averaged wind products. Here, this wind power input is reexamined using available observations, focusing on the role of the synoptically varying wind. Power input to the ocean general circulation is found to increase by over 70% when 6-hourly winds are used instead of monthly winds. Much of the increase occurs in the storm-track regions of the Southern Ocean, Gulf Stream, and Kuroshio Extension. This result holds irrespective of whether the ocean surface velocity is accounted for in the wind stress calculation. Depending on the fate of the high-frequency wind power input, the power input to the ocean general circulation relevant to deep-ocean mixing may be less than previously thought. This study emphasizes the difficulty of choosing appropriate forcing for ocean-only models. 2013-02-28T16:44:38Z 2013-02-28T16:44:38Z 2012-08 2012-01 Article http://purl.org/eprint/type/JournalArticle 0022-3670 1520-0485 http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/77235 Zhai, Xiaoming et al. “On the Wind Power Input to the Ocean General Circulation.” Journal of Physical Oceanography 42.8 (2012): 1357–1365. © 2013 American Meteorological Society https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6808-3664 en_US http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/jpo-d-12-09.1 Journal of Physical Oceanography 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. application/pdf American Meteorological Society American Meteorological Society |
| spellingShingle | Zhai, Xiaoming Johnson, Helen L. Marshall, David P. Wunsch, Carl Isaac On the Wind Power Input to the Ocean General Circulation |
| title | On the Wind Power Input to the Ocean General Circulation |
| title_full | On the Wind Power Input to the Ocean General Circulation |
| title_fullStr | On the Wind Power Input to the Ocean General Circulation |
| title_full_unstemmed | On the Wind Power Input to the Ocean General Circulation |
| title_short | On the Wind Power Input to the Ocean General Circulation |
| title_sort | on the wind power input to the ocean general circulation |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/77235 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6808-3664 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT zhaixiaoming onthewindpowerinputtotheoceangeneralcirculation AT johnsonhelenl onthewindpowerinputtotheoceangeneralcirculation AT marshalldavidp onthewindpowerinputtotheoceangeneralcirculation AT wunschcarlisaac onthewindpowerinputtotheoceangeneralcirculation |