FN Archimer Export Format
PT J
TI Impact of ocean-atmosphere current feedback on the ocean mesoscale activity: regional variations, and sensitivity to model resolution
BT 
AF Jullien, Swen
   Masson, Sébastien
   Oerder, Véra
   Samson, Guillaume
   Colas, François
   Renault, Lionel
AS 1:1;2:2;3:3;4:4;5:2;6:5,6;
FF 1:PDG-ODE-LOPS-SIAM;2:;3:;4:;5:;6:;
C1 Ifremer, Univ. Brest, CNRS, IRD, Laboratoire d’Oceanographie Physique et Spatiale (LOPS), IUEM, Brest, France
   LOCEAN-IPSL, Sorbonne Universite-CNRS-IRD-MNHN, 4 place Jussieu, F-75005 Paris, France
   Escuela de Ciencias del Mar, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Chile
   Mercator Ocean, Ramonville-Saint-Agne, France
   University of Toulouse, IRD, CNRS, CNES, UPS, LEGOS, Toulouse, France
   Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
C2 IFREMER, FRANCE
   UNIV PARIS 06, FRANCE
   UNIV PONTIFICIA CATOLICA VALPARAISO, CHILE
   MERCATOR OCEAN, FRANCE
   UNIV TOULOUSE, FRANCE
   UNIV CALIF LOS ANGELES, USA
SI BREST
SE PDG-ODE-LOPS-SIAM
UM LOPS
IN WOS Ifremer UMR
   copubli-france
   copubli-univ-france
   copubli-int-hors-europe
IF 5.148
TC 19
UR https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00601/71329/69759.pdf
   https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00601/71329/88418.pdf
LA English
DT Article
DE ;Currents;Feedback;Mesoscale processes;Air-sea interaction;Coupled models;Mesoscale models
AB Ocean mesoscale eddies are characterized by rotating-like and meandering currents that imprint the low-level atmosphere. Such a current feedback (CFB) has been shown to induce a sink of energy from the ocean to the atmosphere, and consequently to damp the eddy kinetic energy (EKE), with an apparent regional disparity. In a context of increasing model resolution, the importance of this feedback, and its dependence on oceanic and atmospheric models resolution arise. Using a hierarchy of quasi-global coupled models with spatial resolutions varying from ¼° to 1/12°, the present study shows that the CFB induces a negative wind work at scales ranging from 100 to 1000 km, and a subsequent damping of the mesoscale activity by ∼30% on average, independently of the model resolution. Regional variations of this damping range from ∼20% in very rich-eddying regions to ∼40% in poor-eddying regions. This regional modulation is associated to a different balance between the sink of energy by eddy wind work, and the source of EKE by ocean intrinsic instabilities. The efficiency of the CFB is also shown to be a function of the surface wind magnitude: the larger the wind, the larger the sink of energy. The CFB impact is thus related to both wind and EKE. Its correct representation requires both an ocean model that resolves the mesoscale field adequately, and an atmospheric model resolution that matches the ocean effective resolution and allows a realistic representation of wind patterns. These results are crucial for including adequately mesoscale ocean-atmosphere interactions in coupled general circulation models, and have strong implications in climate research. 
PY 2020
PD APR
SO Journal Of Climate
SN 0894-8755
PU American Meteorological Society
VL 33
IS 7
UT 000517554400001
BP 2585
EP 2602
DI 10.1175/JCLI-D-19-0484.1
ID 71329
ER

EF