HR: 11:50h
AN: GC12A-07    [Abstracts]
TI: The Southern Ocean response to poleward intensifying winds: a model resolution sensitivity study.
AU: * Spence, P
EM: jspence@uvic.ca
AF: School of Earth and Ocean Science, University of Victoria, PO Box 3055 STN CSC, Victoria, BC V8W 3P6, Canada
AU: Fyfe, J
EM: John.Fyfe@ec.gc.ca
AF: Canadian Centre for Climate Modelling and Analysis, PO Box 1700, STN CSC, Victoria, BC V8W 2Y2, Canada
AU: Saenko, O
EM: Oleg.Saenko@ec.gc.ca
AF: Canadian Centre for Climate Modelling and Analysis, PO Box 1700, STN CSC, Victoria, BC V8W 2Y2, Canada
AB: The Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) connects all the major ocean basins, has the highest volume transport in the world ocean and plays a key role in global climate. Observational records and modeling results indicate a consistent poleward intensification of the zonal wind stress over the Southern Ocean concomitant with anthropogenic warming through the 20th and 21st centuries. Coarse resolution global model studies, with simple geostrophic balance considerations, have shown an increase in transport and poleward shift in the position of the ACC in response to the changing winds. However, regional eddy-permitting models identified changes in the intensity of the eddy field but little change in ACC transport (an effect dubbed "eddy saturation"). In this study, versions of a global climate model with horizontal resolutions ranging from 1.8 x 3.6 (degrees) to 0.2 x 0.4 are used to refine our understanding of anthropogenically induced changes in Southern Ocean. The models are forced time-varying Southern Ocean surface wind anomalies through the 21st century. The effect of model resolution on the response of Southern Ocean heat content, volume transport, eddy kinetic energy and heat transport will be discussed.
UR: http://www.climate.uvic.ca
DE: 1616 Climate variability (1635, 3305, 3309, 4215, 4513)
DE: 1626 Global climate models (3337, 4928)
DE: 1635 Oceans (1616, 3305, 4215, 4513)
SC: Global Environmental Change [GC]
MN: 2007 Fall Meeting