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Models of the Ocean: Which Ocean?

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Ocean Weather Forecasting

Abstract

Physics actually represented in an ocean model depend on each model’s resolution and its parameterization of subgridscale effects. This chapter is a review of parameterizations used in ocean models, focussing on operational ocean forecasting systems for the North Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea. This review is limited to z-coordinate models. A detailed presentation of the physics underlying each parameterization is out of the scope of this short chapter, but we try to discuss some uncertainties of the physical basis of current parameterizations. The concept of subgrid scale effects and some interesting properties of the diffusion equation are presented first. Because ocean turbulence is strongly anisotropic, parameterization in the vertical and horizontal (or isopycnal) directions differ and are presented separately. Special sections are devoted to bottom boundary layers, flow topography interactions, and the dynamical effects of mesoscale eddies.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. LPO, CNRS, Plouzané, France

    Anne Marie Treguier

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  1. Anne Marie Treguier
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Miami, USA

    Eric P. Chassignet

  2. LEGI, CNRS, Grenoble, France

    Jacques Verron

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Treguier, A.M. (2006). Models of the Ocean: Which Ocean?. In: Chassignet, E.P., Verron, J. (eds) Ocean Weather Forecasting. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-4028-8_3

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