A Nonlinear Model of an Ocean Driven by Wind and Differential Heating: Part I. Description of the Three-Dimensional Velocity and Density Fields

Abstract

A numerical experiment is carried out to investigate the circulation of an ocean, driven by a prescribed density gradient and wind stress at the surface. The mathematical formulation includes in one model most of the physical effects that have been considered in previous theoretical studies. Starting out from conditions of uniform stratification and complete rest, an extensive numerical integration is carried out with respect to time. Care is taken in the final stages of the calculation to use a finite difference net which resolves the very narrow boundary layers which form along the side walls of the basin. A detailed description is made of the three-dimensional velocity and temperature patterns obtained from the final stage of the run. Since inertial effects play an important role in the western boundary current, it is possible to verify with a baroclinic model two results obtained previously with barotropic ocean models: 1) a concentrated outflow from the western boundary takes place along the upper boundary of the subtropic wind gyre; and 2) inertial recirculation may increase the total transport of the boundary current to a value well above that given by linear theory. In addition to the western boundary current, a strong eastward flowing current is found along the equator. Taking into account a difference in Rossby number between model and prototype, the intensity of the computed currents agrees very closely to observations in the Gulf Stream and the Equatorial Current.