Seasonal variability of the South Equatorial Current bifurcation in the Atlantic Ocean: A numerical study

Journal of Physical Oceanography

Volumn 37, Issue 1, 2007, Pages 16-30

  Rodrigues, Regina R ^a,b   Rothstein, Lewis M ^a   Wimbush, Mark ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND   (United States)

^b NOAA EARTH SYSTEM RESEARCH LABORATORY   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

ATMOSPHERIC MOVEMENTS; COMPUTER SIMULATION; OCEANOGRAPHY; TEMPERATURE DISTRIBUTION; WIND STRESS;

MERIDIONAL VELOCITY; REMOTE FORCING; SEASONAL VARIABILITY;

CLIMATOLOGY;

BIFURCATION; EQUATORIAL DYNAMICS; OBSERVATIONAL METHOD; OCEANIC CURRENT; OCEANIC GENERAL CIRCULATION MODEL; SEASONAL VARIATION; THERMOCLINE;

ATLANTIC OCEAN; ATLANTIC OCEAN (EQUATORIAL); BRAZIL CURRENT;

EID: 33846996017     PISSN: 00223670     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1175/JPO2983.1     Document Type: Article

References (63)

1. Blanke, B., M. Arhan, G. Madec, and S. Roche, 1999: Warm water paths in the equatorial Atlantic as diagnosed with a general circulation model. J. Phys. Oceanogr., 29, 2753-2768.
2. Boebel, O., R. E. Davis, M. Ollitrault, R. G. Peterson, P. L. Richardson, C. Schmid, and W. Zenk, 1999: The intermediate depth circulation of the western South Atlantic. Geophys. Res. Lett., 26, 3329-3332.
3. Campos, E. J. D., J. E. Gonçalves, and Y. Ikeda, 1995: Water mass characteristics and geostrophic circulation in the South Brazil Bight: Summer of 1991. J. Geophys. Res., 100, 18 537-18 550.
4. Chen, D., A. J. Busalacchi, and L. M. Rothstein, 1994a: The roles of vertical mixing, solar radiation, and wind stress in a model simulation of the sea surface temperature seasonal cycle in the tropical Pacific Ocean. J. Geophys. Res., 99, 20 345-20 359.
5. Chen, D., L. M. Rothstein, and A. J. Busalacchi, 1994b: A hybrid vertical mixing scheme and its application to tropical ocean models. J. Phys. Oceanogr., 24, 2156-2179.
6. Conkright, M. E., R. A. Locarnini, H. E. Garcia, T. D. O'Brien, T. P. Boyer, C. Stephens, and J. I. Antonov, 2002: World Ocean Atlas 2001: Objective Analyses, Data Statistics, and Figures. CD-ROM Documentation. National Oceanographic Data Center, 17 pp.
7. Curry, R. G., 1996: Hydrobase: A database of hydrographic stations and tools for climatological analysis. Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute Tech. Rep. 96-01, 50 pp.
8. da Silva, A. M., C. C. Young, and S. Levitus, 1994: Algorithms and Procedures. Vol. 1, Atlas of Surface Marine Data, NOAA Atlas NESDIS 6, 83 pp.
9. da Silva, M. P., and P. Chang, 2004: Seasonal variation of the subtropical/tropical pathways in the Atlantic Ocean from a Ocean Data Assimilation Experiment. Earth's Climate: The Ocean-Atmosphere Interaction, Geophys. Monogr., Vol. 147, Amer. Geophys. Union, 305-318.
10. da Silveira, I. C. A., L. B. de Miranda, and W. S. Brown, 1994: On the origins of the North Brazil Current. J. Geophys. Res., 99, 22 501-22 512.
11. Davis, R. E., 1976: Predictability of sea surface temperature and sea level pressure anomalies over the North Pacific Ocean. J. Phys. Oceanogr., 6, 249-266.
12. Ganachaud, A., 2003: Large-scale mass transports, water mass formation, and diffusivities estimated from World Ocean Circulation Experiment (WOCE) hydrographic data. J. Geophys. Res., 108, 3213, doi:10.1029/ 2002JC001565.
13. Garfield, N., III, 1990: The Brazil Current at subtropical latitudes. Ph.D. dissertation, University of Rhode Island, 132 pp.
14. Gent, P., and M. A. Cane, 1989: A reduced gravity, primitive equation model of upper equatorial ocean. J. Comput. Phys., 81, 444-480.
15. Giese, B. S., and D. R. Cayan, 1993: Surface heat flux parameterizations and tropical Pacific sea surface temperature simulations. J. Geophys. Res., 98, 6979-6989.
16. Ginis, I., R. A. Richardson, and L. M. Rothstein, 1998: Design of a multiply nested primitive equation ocean model. Mon. Wea. Rev., 126, 1054-1079.
17. Goes, M., R. Molinari, I. da Silveira, and I. Wainer, 2005: Retroflections of the North Brazil Current during February 2002. Deep-Sea Res., 52, 647-667.
18. Harper, S., 2000: Thermocline ventilation and pathways of tropical-subtropical water mass exchange. Tellus, 52A, 330-345.
19. Hazeleger, W., P. de Vries, and Y. Friocourt, 2003: Sources of the equatorial undercurrent in the Atlantic in a high-resolution ocean model. J. Phys. Oceanogr., 33, 677-693.
20. Inui, T., A. Lazar, P. Malanotte-Rizzoli, and A. Busalacchi, 2002: Wind stress effects on subsurface pathways from the subtropical to tropical Atlantic. J. Phys. Oceanogr., 32, 2257-2276.
21. Johns, W. E., R. Zantopp, and G. Goni, 2003: Cross-gyre transport by North Brazil Current rings. Interhemispheric Water Exchange in the Atlantic Ocean, G. J. Goni and P. Malanotte-Rizzoli, Eds., Elsevier, 411-441.
22. Kara, A. B., P. A. Rochford, and H. E. Hurlburt, 2000: Efficient and accurate bulk parameterizations of air-sea fluxes for use in general circulation models. J. Atmos. Oceanic Technol., 17, 1421-1438.
23. Kim, Y. Y., T. Qu, T. Jensen, T. Miyama, H. Mitsudera, H. W. Kang, and A. Ishida, 2004: Seasonal and interannual variations of the North Equatorial Current bifurcation in a high-resolution OGCM. J. Geophys. Res., 109, C03040, doi:10.1029/2003JC002013.
24. Kleeman, R., J. P. McCreary, and B. A. Klinger, 1999: A mechanism for generating ENSO decadal variability. Geophys. Res. Lett., 26, 1743-1746.
25. Kochurov, A. G., 2002: The ocean response to atmospheric intraseasonal variability in the tropical Pacific Ocean. Ph.D. dissertation, University of Rhode Island, 228 pp.
26. Kraus, E. B., and J. S. Turner, 1967: A one-dimensional model of the seasonal thermocline. Tellus, 19, 98-105.
27. Lazar, A., R. Murtugudde, and A. J. Busalacchi, 2001: A model study of temperature anomaly propagation from the subtropics to Tropics within the South Atlantic thermocline. Geophys. Res. Lett., 28, 1271-1274.
28. Lazar, A., T. Inui, P. Malanotte-Rizzoli, A. J. Busalacchi, L. Wang, and R. Murtugudde, 2002: Seasonality of the ventilation of the tropical Atlantic thermocline in an ocean general circulation model. J. Geophys. Res., 107, 3104, doi:10.1029/2000JC000667.
29. Lee, T., and I. Fukumori, 2003: Interannual-to-decadal variations of tropical-subtropical exchange in the Pacific Ocean: Boundary versus interior pycnocline transports. J. Climate, 16, 4022-4042.
30. Liu, Z., S. G. H. Philander, and R. C. Pacanowski, 1994: A GCM study of tropical-subtropical upper-ocean water exchange. J. Phys. Oceanogr., 24, 2606-2623.
31. Lu, P., and J. J. McCreary, 1995: Influence of the ITCZ on the flow of thermocline water from the subtropical to the equatorial Pacific Ocean. J. Phys. Oceanogr., 25, 3076-3088.
32. Lumpkin, R., and K. Speer, 2003: Large-scale vertical and horizontal circulation in the North Atlantic Ocean. J. Phys. Oceanogr., 33, 1902-1920.
33. Malanotte-Rizzoli, P., K. Hedstrom, H. Arango, and D. B. Haidvogel, 2000: Water mass pathways between the subtropical and tropical ocean in a climatological simulation of the North Atlantic Ocean circulation. Dyn. Atmos. Oceans, 32, 331-371.
34. McCreary, J. J., and P. Lu, 1994: Interaction between the subtropical and equatorial ocean circulations: The subtropical cell. J. Phys. Oceanogr., 24, 466-497.
35. McPhaden, M. J., and D. Zhang, 2002: Slowdown of the meridional overturning circulation in the upper Pacific Ocean. Nature, 415, 603-608.
36. McPhaden, M. J., and D. Zhang, 2004: Pacific Ocean circulation rebounds. Geophys. Res. Lett., 31, L18301, doi:10.1029/2004GL020727.
37. Meehl, G. A., P. R. Gent, J. M. Arblaster, B. L. Otto-Bliesner, E. C. Brady, and A. Craig, 2001: Factors that affect the amplitude of El Niño in global coupled climate models. Climate Dyn., 17, 515-526.
38. Metcalf, W. G., and M. Stalcup, 1967: Origins of the Atlantic Equatorial Undercurrent. J. Geophys. Res., 72, 4959-4975.
39. Metzger, J. P., and H. E. Hurlburt, 1996: Coupled dynamics of the South China Sea, the Sulu Sea, and the Pacific Ocean. J. Geophys. Res., 101, 12 331-12 352.
40. Nonaka, M., S. P. Xie, and J. P. McCreary, 2002: Decadal variations in the subtropical cells and equatorial Pacific SST. Geophys. Res. Lett., 29, 1116, doi:10.1029/2001GL013717.
41. Price, J. F., R. A. Weller, and R. Pinkel, 1986: Diurnal cycling: Observations and models of the upper ocean response to diurnal heating, cooling, and wind mixing. J. Geophys. Res., 91, 8411-8427.
42. Qiu, B., and R. Lukas, 1996: Seasonal and interannual variability of the North Equatorial Current, the Mindanao Current, and the Kuroshio along the Pacific western boundary. J. Geophys. Res., 101, 12 315-12 330.
43. Qu, T., and R. Lukas, 2003: The bifurcation of the North Equatorial Current in the Pacific. J. Phys. Oceanogr., 33, 5-18.
44. Qu, T., H. Mitsudera, and T. Yamagata, 2000: Intrusion of the North Pacific waters into the South China Sea. J. Geophys. Res., 105, 6415-6424.
45. Rodrigues, R. R., 2004: An observational and numerical study of the South Atlantic circulation. Ph.D. dissertation, University of Rhode Island, 175 pp.
46. Rothstein, L. M., R. H. Zhang, A. J. Busalacchi, and D. Chen, 1998: A numerical simulation of the mean water pathways in the subtropical and tropical Pacific Ocean. J. Phys. Oceanogr., 28, 322-343.
47. Schmid, C., G. Siedler, and W. Zenk, 2000: Dynamics of intermediate water circulation in the subtropical South Atlantic. J. Phys. Oceanogr., 30, 3191-3211.
48. Schmitz, W. J., Jr., 1995: On the interbasin-scale thermohaline circulation. Rev. Geophys., 33, 151-173.
49. Schott, F. A., L. Stramma, and J. Fischer, 1995: The warm water inflow into the western tropical Atlantic boundary regime, spring 1994. J. Geophys. Res., 100, 24 745-24 760.
50. Schott, F. A., J. Fischer, and L. Stramma, 1998: Transports and pathways of the upper-layer circulation in the western tropical Atlantic. J. Phys. Oceanogr., 28, 1904-1928.
51. Schott, F. A., P. Brandt, M. Hamann, J. Fischer, and L. Stramma, 2002: On the boundary flow off Brazil at 5°-10°S and its connection to the interior tropical Atlantic. Geophys. Res. Lett., 29, 1840, doi:10.1029/2002GL014786.
52. Stramma, L., 1991: Geostrophic transport of the South Equatorial Current in the Atlantic. J. Mar. Res., 49, 281-294.
53. Stramma, L., and R. G. Peterson, 1990: The South Atlantic Current. J. Phys. Oceanogr., 20, 846-859.
54. Stramma, L., and M. England, 1999: On the water masses and mean circulation of the South Atlantic Ocean. J. Geophys. Res., 104, 20 863-20 883.
55. Stramma, L., and F. Schott, 1999: The mean flow field of the tropical Atlantic Ocean. Deep-Sea Res., 46, 279-303.
56. Stramma, L., and J. Fischer, P. Brandt, and F. A. Schott, 2003; Circulation, variability and near-equatorial meridional flow in the central tropical Atlantic. Interhemispheric Water Exchange in the Atlantic Ocean, G. J. Goni and P. Malanotte-Rizzoli, Eds., Elsevier, 1-22.
57. Talley, L. D., 2003: Shallow, intermediate, and deep overturning components of the global heat budget. J. Phys. Oceanogr., 33, 530-560.
58. Tsuchiya, M., L. D. Talley, and M. S. McCartney, 1994: Watermass distributions in the western South Atlantic: A section from South Georgia Island (54°S) northward across the equator. J. Mar. Res., 52, 55-81.
59. Vivier, F., and C. Provost, 1999: Direct velocity measurements in the Malvinas Current. J. Geophys. Res., 104, 21 083-21 103.
60. Watts, D. R., X. Qian, and K. L. Tracey, 2001: Mapping abyssal current and pressure fields under the meandering Gulf Stream. J. Atmos. Oceanic Technol., 18, 1052-1067.
61. Wienders, N., M. Arhan, and H. Mercier, 2000: Circulation at the western boundary of the South and Equatorial Atlantic: Exchanges with the ocean interior. J. Mar. Res., 58, 1007-1039.
62. Wilson, W. D., E. Johns, and R. L. Molinari, 1994: Upper layer circulation in the western tropical North Atlantic Ocean during August 1989. J. Geophys. Res., 99, 22 513-22 523.
63. Zhang, D., M. J. McPhaden, and W. E. Johns, 2003: Observational evidence for flow between the subtropical and tropical Atlantic: The Atlantic subtropical cells. J. Phys. Oceanogr., 33, 1783-1797.