Equatorial entrainment zone simulations
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Authors
Chen, Chi-Shao
Subjects
Air-sea interaction
equatorial circulation
equatorial circulation
Advisors
Garwood, Roland W.
Date of Issue
1990-06
Date
June 1990
Publisher
Monterey, California: Naval Postgraduate School
Language
Abstract
The equatorial entrainment zone model of Garwood et al. (1989) is employed along with data collected by Moum et al. (1984) during the Tropic Heat I Experiment to explain how the dissipation of turbulence is related to surface forcing of wind stress and net heat flux. Four numerical experiments with different atmospheric conditions are conducted with the entrainment zone model. Solar radiation is diurnally repeated, and wind stress is held constant in the first case. The model is forced with linearly varied wind speed in the second case and uses observed winds for the third cases. The first three cases demonstrated the effects of wind stress on the dissipation of turbulence. In the final case both observed wind and observed solar radiation were applied to the model to simulate the effect of realistic forcing, allowing a comparison between model-predicted and observed values of dissipation. Numerical solutions qualitatively agree with the observations, and the time and depth dependence of the diurnal dissipation cycle are well reproduced by the model.
Type
Thesis
Description
Series/Report No
Department
Oceanography
Organization
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.)
Identifiers
NPS Report Number
Sponsors
Funder
Format
x, 78 p.ill.
Citation
Distribution Statement
Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.
Rights
This publication is a work of the U.S. Government as defined in Title 17, United States Code, Section 101. Copyright protection is not available for this work in the United States.