Thesis (Ph. D.)--Joint Program in Oceanography (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences; and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution), 1988. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 178-180). / Analysis of vertical profiles of absolute horizontal velocity collected in January 1981, February 1982 and April 1982 in the central equatorial Pacific as part of the Pacific Equatorial Ocean Dynamics (PEQUOD) program, revealed two significant narrow band spectral peaks in the zonal velocity records, centered at vertical wavelengths of 560 and 350 stretched meters (sm). Both signals were present in all three cruises, but the 350 sm peak showed a more steady character in amplitude and a higher signal-to-noise ratio. In addition, its vertical scales corresponded to the scales of the conspicuous alternating flows generically called the equatorial deep jets in the past (the same terminology will be used here). Meridional velocity and vertical displacement spectra did not show any such energetic features. Energy in the 560 sm band roughly doubled between January 1981 and April 1982. Time lagged coherence results suggested upward phase propagation at time scales of about 4 years. East-west phase lines computed from zonally lagged coherences, tilted downward towards the west, implying westward phase propagation. Estimates of zonal wavelength (on the order of 10000 km) and period based on these coherence calculations, and the observed energy meridional structure at this vertical wavenumber band, seem consistent, within experimental errors, with the presence of a first meridional mode long Rossby wave packet, weakly modulated in the zonal direction. The equatorial deep jets, identified with the peak centered at 350 sm, are best defined as a finite narrow band process in vertical wavenumber (311-400 sm), accounting for only 20% of the total variance present in the broad band energetic background. At the jets wavenumber band, latitudinal energy scaling compared well with Kelvin wave theoretical values and a general tilt of phase lines downward towards the east yielded estimates of 10000-16000 km for the zonal wavelengths. / by Rui Vasques de Melo Ponte. / Ph.D.

Understanding the interactions between ocean and atmosphere in regions of oceanographic fronts is of vital importance for the improvement of numerical models for weather and climate forecasting. In the South Atlantic Ocean (SAO) the meeting between the warm waters of the Brazil Current (BC) and the cold waters of the Malvinas (Falkland) Current (MC) in the region known as the Brazil-Malvinas Confluence (BMC), results in intense mesoscale oceanic activity and, for this reason, this region is considered one of the most energetic of the Global Ocean. The interactions resulting from the thermal contrast in regions oceanographic fronts of the OAS are investigated in this work through estimates of heat fluxes based on data collected in situ and by satellite. The results of this study show that the response to the thermal contrasts found in the ocean is in the form of heat fluxes and these fluxes are critical in modulating the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL). Estimation based on data collected in situ show that in the warm side (north) of the oceanographic front the fluxes are more intense (latent heat: 62 W/m² and sensible heat: 0.6 W/m²) than in the cold side (south) (latent heat: 5.8 W/m² and sensible heat: -13.8 W/m²). In the South Atlantic Current (SAC) along the 30° S parallel, heat fluxes are directly related to the meandering characteristic of the current. The data collected in situ, in addition to allow heat flux estimates at a better spatial resolution, were used to develop a new method for estimating the heat energy exchanged between the atmosphere and the ocean caused by the presence of mesoscale oceanic structures. This methodology consists in the comparison of a radiosonde profile taken over waters of the structure of interest and another taken over waters which do not belong to this structure. The methodology was used to estimate the heat energy transfer between the atmosphere and the ocean over the top of three structures sampled in the OAS. The estimation of the heat energy transferred by a warm eddy detached from the BC points to an energy in the latent (sensible) form of 1.6 1017 J (-2.8 1016 J) which corresponds to approximately 0.011 % of the total heat energy of the eddy transferred to the atmosphere during the field experiment and 0.78 % transferred during the supposed lifetime of the eddy (3 months). Along the CSA two oceanic structures were studied: (i) a cold meander that receives from the atmosphere energy in the latent (sensible) form of 1.4 106 J/m2 (5.4 105 J/m2), and (ii) warmer waters associated with a detached eddy from the Agulhas Current (AC) that transfer to the atmosphe heat energy of approximately 4 106 J/m2 an 5.7 106 J/m2 in the latent and sensible forms, respectively. The estimation of heat energy transfer on top of mesoscale oceanic structures clearly demonstrate the importance of these structures for the heat exchanges between the ocean and the atmosphere and must be taken into account in future works about this subject in the SAO. / A compreensão das interações entre oceano e atmosfera em regiões de frentes oceanográficas é de vital importância para o melhoramento de modelos numéricos de previsão do tempo e clima. No Oceano Atlântico Sul (OAS) o encontro entre as águas quentes da Corrente do Brasil (CB) com as águas frias da Corrente das Malvinas (CM), na região denominada Confluência Brasil-Malvinas (CBM), resulta em intensa atividade oceânica de mesoescala e, por esse motivo, essa região é considerada uma das mais energéticas do Oceano Global. As interações resultantes do contraste termal ao longo de regiões de frentes oceanográficas no OAS são investigadas neste trabalho através de estimativas de fluxos de calor baseadas em dados de satélite e dados coletados in situ. Os resultados do trabalho demonstram que a resposta aos contrastes termais encontrados no oceano se dá na forma de fluxos de calor e que esses fluxos são fundamentais na modulação da Camada Limite Atmosférica (CLA). As estimativas com base em dados coletados in situ demonstram que no lado quente (norte) da frente oceanográfica os fluxos são mais intensos (calor latente: 62 W/m² e calor sensível: 0,6 W/m²) que nos lado frio (sul) (calor latente: 5,8 W/m² e calor sensível: -13,8 W/m²). Na Corrente Sul Atlântica (CSA), ao longo do paralelo de 30° S, os fluxos de calor estão diretamente relacionados a característica meandrante da corrente. Os dados coletados in situ, além de possibilitarem estimativas de fluxo de calor com uma melhor resolução espacial, foram usados no desenvolvimento de uma nova metodologia para estimativa da energia calorífica trocada entre oceano e atmosfera em virtude da presença de estruturas oceânicas de mesoescala. Essa metodologia consiste na comparação entre um perfil de radiossonda tomado sobre águas da estrutura de interesse e outro tomado sobre águas que não pertencem a essa estrutura. A metodologia desenvolvida foi utilizada para determinar a transferência de energia calorífica entre oceano e atmosfera em três estruturas amostradas no OAS. A estimativa da energia calorífica transferida por um vórtice quente desprendido da CB aponta para uma energia na forma latente (sensível) de 1,6 1017 J (-2,8 1016 J) que corresponde a aproximadamente 0,011 % da energia calorífica total do vórtice transferida durante o experimento de campo e de 0,78 % da energia do vórtice transferidos durante o tempo suposto de vida do vórtice (3 meses). Ao longo da CSA, duas estruturas oceânicas foram estudadas: (i) um meandro frio que recebe da atmosfera uma energia na forma latente (sensível) de 1,4 106 J/m2 (5,4 105 J/m2) e (ii) águas mais quentes associadas a um vórtice desprendido da Corrente das Agulhas (CA) que transferem para a atmosfera uma energia calorífica de aproximadamente 4 106 J/m2 e 5,7 106 J/m2 nas formas latente e sensível, respectivamente. As estimativas da transferência de energia calorífica sobre estruturas oceânicas de mesoescala demonstram claramente a importância destas nas trocas de calor entre o oceano e a atmosfera e devem ser levadas em consideração em trabalhos futuros sobre o tema no OAS.

Submitted by Fabio Sobreira Campos da Costa (fabio.sobreira@ufpe.br) on 2016-03-18T13:04:49Z No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 1232 bytes, checksum: 66e71c371cc565284e70f40736c94386 (MD5) Tese_Gbekpo_Aubains_2015.pdf: 10869276 bytes, checksum: 0b22521ef971c75f3112dcbc74fcbb7a (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-03-18T13:04:50Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 1232 bytes, checksum: 66e71c371cc565284e70f40736c94386 (MD5) Tese_Gbekpo_Aubains_2015.pdf: 10869276 bytes, checksum: 0b22521ef971c75f3112dcbc74fcbb7a (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-04-08 / As interações do sistema oceano-atmosfera no Atlântico tropical e suas contribuições à grande variabilidade da precipitação ao longo da costa do nordeste do Brasil (NEB) foram investigadas para os anos de 1974-2008. Os núcleos das estações chuvosas de Março-Abril e de Junho-Julho foram identificados para a parte norte do Nordeste do Brasil (NNEB) e a parte leste do Nordeste do Brasil (ENEB), respectivamente. As regressões lineares defasadas entre as anomalias da Temperatura da Superfície do Mar (TSM), da Pseudo tensão de cisalhamento de vento (PWS), do Fluxo de calor latente (LHF), da Umidade especifica do ar, e as anomalias (positivas e negativas) de precipitação forte no NNEB e no ENEB mostram que a variabilidade da precipitação dessas regiões é diferentemente influenciada pela dinâmica do Atlântico tropical. Quando a zona de convergência intertropical (ZCIT) é anormalmente deslocada para o sul alguns meses antes da estação chuvosa do NNEB, a fase negativa do Modo Meridional do Atlântico (AMM) (fortalecimento dos ventos alísios do nordeste, relaxamento dos ventos alísios do sudeste, maior evaporação no hemisfério norte, menor evaporação no hemisfério sul, TSM mais fria no hemisfério norte, e TSM mais quente no hemisfério Sul), aumenta a precipitação durante a estação chuvosa. O efeito oposto ocorre durante a fase positiva do AMM. Além disso, o estudo mostra a grande influência e um efeito preditivo da região Noroeste do Atlântico Equatorial noroeste (NWEA) sobre a precipitação do NNEB. Com relação ao estado subsuperficial do oceano, os resultados indicam que uma camada de barreira mais fina na NWEA de Novembro-Dezembro até Março-Abril é associada ao resfriamento progressivo da TSM, ao reforço do componente meridional do vento nordeste e precipitações intensas sobre o NNEB. Já a influência da dinâmica do Atlântico tropical sobre a variabilidade da precipitação no ENEB em Junho-Julho indica uma propagação para noroeste de uma área de forte correlação positiva de TSM e de Umidade específica do ar, deslocando-se da parte sudeste do Atlântico tropical (de Fevereiro-Março) para a região da Piscina Quente do Atlântico Sudoeste (SAWP), situada ao largo do Brasil (Junho-Julho). A área de propagação das anomalias, observada segue globalmente o caminho do ramo sul da Corrente Sul Equatorial (sSEC), que é responsável pelo transporte de calor oceânico de leste para oeste no Atlântico tropical sul. O deslocamento da fase mais quente da advecção horizontal de calor oceânico, na camada de mistura, de leste da bacia (entre 5º-15ºS) para a costa do Brasil em Junho-Agosto corrobora a influência da sSEC sobre o núcleo da chuva do ENEB. Uma aceleração dos ventos alísios de sudeste, associada a uma convergência da anomalia do vento sobre a SAWP, produz excesso de umidade do ar sobre a região e provoca mais precipitação sobre ENEB. O efeito oposto ocorre para os episódios menos chuvosos. De acordo com o estudo, a SAWP se mostra como uma área de potencial para o estabelecimento de um índice de previsão de chuvas no ENEB. / Tropical Atlantic Ocean-atmosphere interactions and their contributions to strong variability of rainfall along the Northeast Brazilian coast (NEB) were investigated for the years 1974-2008. The core rainy seasons of March-April and June-July were identified for northern Northeast Brazil (NNEB) and eastern Northeast Brazil (ENEB), respectively. Lagged linear regressions between sea surface temperature (SST), pseudo wind stress (PWS), latent heat flux (LHF) and air specific humidity anomalies over the entire tropical Atlantic and strong rainfall anomalies in NNEB and ENEB show that the rainfall variability of these regions is differentially influenced by the dynamics of the tropical Atlantic. When the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) is abnormally displaced southward a few months prior to the NNEB rainy season, the associated meridional mode (strengthening of the northeast trade winds, relaxation of the southeast trade winds, strong evaporation in the north, weak evaporation in the south, colder SST in the North, and warmer SST in the South) increases precipitation during the rainy season. The opposite effect occurs during the positive phase of the dipole. Additionally, this study shows strong influence and predictive effect of the Northwestern Equatorial Atlantic (NWEA) on the NNEB rainfall. Thinner barrier layer in the NWEA from November-December to March-April is associated with progressive cooling of SST, strengthening of meridional component of the northeasterly wind and intense precipitations over the NNEB. The dynamical influence of the tropical Atlantic on the June-July ENEB rainfall variability shows a northwestward-propagating area of strong, positively correlated SST and air specific humidity from the southeastern tropical Atlantic (February-March) to the Southwestern Atlantic Warm Pool (SAWP) offshore of Brazil (June-July). The northwestward-propagating area, observed from February-March to June-July, follows the same pathway of the southern branch of south equatorial current (sSEC), which is responsible of the oceanic heat transport from east to west in the southern tropical Atlantic. The displacement of the warmest phase of horizontal advection of the oceanic mixed layer heat from the eastern part (between 5-15ºS) to the Brazilian coast in June-August confirms this influence of the sSEC on core rainy season in the ENEB. Furthermore, according to our study, the SAWP could be used as index of rainfall prediction in ENEB. An early acceleration of the southeasterly trade winds, associated with a strong convergence of the wind anomaly over the SAWP, produces excessive humidity over the region and causes more precipitation over ENEB. The opposite effect occurs for less rainy episodes.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Joint Program in Physical Oceanography (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution), 2000. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 284-290). / by Brian Kenneth Arbic. / Ph.D.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Joint Program in Physical Oceanography (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution), 2000. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 217-222). / Estimation of the upper ocean heat budget from one year of observations at a moored array in the north central Arabian Sea shows a rough balance between the horizontal advection and time change in heat when the one-dimensional balance between the surface heat flux and oceanic heat content breaks down. The two major episodes of horizontal advection, during the early northeast (NE) and late southwest (SW) monsoon seasons, are both associated with the propagation of mesoscale eddies. During the NE monsoon, the heat fluxes within the mixed layer are not significantly different from zero, and the large heat flux comes from advected changes in the thermocline depth. During the SW monsoon a coastal filament exports recently upwelled water from the Omani coast to the site of the array, 600 km offshore. Altimetry shows mildly elevated levels of surface eddy kinetic energy along the Arabian coast during the SW monsoon, suggesting that such offshore transport may be an important component of the Arabian Sea heat budget. The sea surface temperature (SST) and mixed layer depth are observed to respond to high frequency (HF, diurnal to atmospheric synoptic time scales) variability in the surface heat flux and wind stress. The rectified effect of this HF forcing is investigated in a three-dimensional reduced gravity thermodynamic model of the Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean. Both the HF heat and wind forcing act locally to increase vertical mixing in the model, reducing the SST. Interactions between the local response to the surface forcing, Ekman divergences, and remotely propagated signals in the model can reverse this, generating greater SSTs under HF forcing, particularly at low latitudes. The annual mean SST, however, is lowered under HF forcing, changing the balance between the net surface heat flux (which is dependent on the SST) and the meridional heat flux in the model. A suite of experiments with one-dimensional upper ocean models with different representations of vertical mixing processes suggests that the rectified effect of the diurnal heating cycle is dependent on the model, and overstated in the formulation used in the three-dimensional model. / by Albert Sok Fischer. / Ph.D.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Joint Program in Oceanography (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences; and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution), 2012. / This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections. / Cataloged from student-submitted PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 221-236). / This thesis focuses on ocean circulation and atmospheric forcing in the Atlantic Ocean at the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM, 18-21 thousand years before present). Relative to the pre-industrial climate, LGM atmospheric CO₂ concentrations were about 90 ppm lower, ice sheets were much more extensive, and many regions experienced significantly colder temperatures. In this thesis a novel approach to dynamical reconstruction is applied to make estimates of LGM Atlantic Ocean state that are consistent with these proxy records and with known ocean dynamics. Ocean dynamics are described with the MIT General Circulation Model in an Atlantic configuration extending from 35°S to 75°N at 1° resolution. Six LGM proxy types are used to constrain the model: four compilations of near sea surface temperatures from the MARGO project, as well as benthic isotope records of [delta]¹⁸O and [delta]¹³C compiled by Marchal and Curry; 629 individual proxy records are used. To improve the fit of the model to the data, a least-squares fit is computed using an algorithm based on the model adjoint (the Lagrange multiplier methodology). The adjoint is used to compute improvements to uncertain initial and boundary conditions (the control variables). As compared to previous model-data syntheses of LGM ocean state, this thesis uses a significantly more realistic model of oceanic physics, and is the first to incorporate such a large number and diversity of proxy records. A major finding is that it is possible to find an ocean state that is consistent with all six LGM proxy compilations and with known ocean dynamics, given reasonable uncertainty estimates. Only relatively modest shifts from modern atmospheric forcing are required to fit the LGM data. The estimates presented herein succesfully reproduce regional shifts in conditions at the LGM that have been inferred from proxy records, but which have not been captured in the best available LGM coupled model simulations. In addition, LGM benthic [delta]¹⁸O and [delta]¹³C records are shown to be consistent with a shallow but robust Atlantic meridional overturning cell, although other circulations cannot be excluded. / by Holly Janine Dail. / Ph.D.

Graduation date: 2006 / Presented on 2005-12-02 / An empirical statistical model is developed that relates the non-tidal motion of the ocean surface currents off the Oregon coast to forecasts of the coastal winds. The empirical statistical model is then used to produce predictions of the surface currents that are evaluated for their agreement with measured currents. Measurements of the ocean surface currents were made at 6 km resolution using Long-Range CODAR SeaSonde high-frequency (HF) surface current mappers and wind forecasts were provided at 12 km resolution by the North American Mesoscale (NAM) model. First, the response of the surface currents to wind-forcing measured by five coastal National Data Buoy Center (NDBC) stations was evaluated using empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis. A significant correlation of approximately 0.8 was found between the majority of the variability in the seasonal anomalies of the low-pass filtered surface currents and the seasonal anomalies of the low-pass filtered wind stress measurements. The U and the V components of the measured surface currents were both shown to be forced by the zonal and meridional components of the wind-stress at the NDBC stations. Next, the NAM wind forecasts were tested for agreement with the measurements of the wind at the NDBC stations. Significant correlations of around 0.8 for meridional wind stress and 0.6 for zonal wind stress were found between the seasonal anomalies of the low-pass filtered wind stress measured by the NDBC stations and the seasonal anomalies of the low-pass filtered wind stress forecast by the NAM model. Given the amount of the variance in the winds captured by the NAM model and the response of the ocean surface currents to both components of the wind, bilinear regressions were formed relating the seasonal anomalies of the low-pass filtered NAM forecasts to the seasonal anomalies of the low-pass filtered surface currents. The regressions turned NAM wind forecasts into predictions of the seasonal anomalies of the low-pass filtered surface currents. Calculations of the seasonal cycle in the surface currents, added to these predicted seasonal anomalies, produced a non-tidal estimation of the surface currents that allowed a residual difference to be calculated from recent surface current measurements. The sum of the seasonal anomalies, the seasonal cycle, and the residual formed a prediction of the non-tidal surface currents. The average error in this prediction of the surface currents off the Oregon coast remained less than 4 cm/s out through 48 hours into the future.