Impact of stochastic ocean density corrections on air-sea flux variability
Agarwal, N., Small, R. J., Bryan, F. O., Grooms, I., Pegion, P. J.. (2023). Impact of stochastic ocean density corrections on air-sea flux variability. Geophysical Research Letters, doi:https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GL104248
| Title | Impact of stochastic ocean density corrections on air-sea flux variability |
|---|---|
| Genre | Article |
| Author(s) | N. Agarwal, R. Justin Small, Frank O. Bryan, I. Grooms, P. J. Pegion |
| Abstract | Air-sea flux variability has contributions from both ocean and atmosphere at different spatio-temporal scales. Atmospheric synoptic scales and the air-sea turbulent heat flux that they drive are well represented in climate models, but ocean mesoscales and their associated variability are often not well resolved due to non-eddy-resolving spatial resolutions of current climate models. We deploy a physics-based stochastic subgrid-scale parameterization for ocean density, that reinforces the lateral density variations due to oceanic eddies, and examine its effect on air-sea heat flux variability in a comprehensive coupled climate model. The stochastic parameterization substantially modifies sea surface temperature (SST) and latent heat flux (LHF) variability and their co-variability, primarily at scales near the resolution of the ocean model grid. Enhancement in the SST-LHF anomaly covariance, and correlations, indicate that the ocean-intrinsic component of the air-sea heat flux variability is more consistent with high-resolution satellite observations, especially in Gulf Stream region. |
| Publication Title | Geophysical Research Letters |
| Publication Date | Jul 16, 2023 |
| Publisher's Version of Record | https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GL104248 |
| OpenSky Citable URL | https://n2t.org/ark:/85065/d7sq94dz |
| OpenSky Listing | View on OpenSky |
| CGD Affiliations | OS |