Numerical Simulation of Oceanic Circulation in the Southern California Bight

Changming Charles Dong

IGPP, UCLA

Collaborators: James McWilliams, Meite Blaas, Yi Chao, Eileen Idica Alex Hall, Mimi Hughes, Keith Stolzenbach

(Strub and James, 2000, DSR)

Seasonal SST (AVHRR)and SSH (TOPEX)

SCB

CCS:

Regional Oceanic Model System (ROMS)

It solves the primitive equations with the oceanic currents,potential temperature, salinity and the equation of state.

It is a community model, and its source codes are open.

More details, see the official websitewww.myroms.org

Regional Oceanic Model System (ROMS)

One-way nested grids(~20km ~6.7km 1km)

Surface Forcing (MM5 18km, 6km, 2 km)

Open Boundary Data (SODA, Carton et al, 2000a,b, JPO)

Integration from 1996-2003

20km

6.7km

1km

U = Ugeo + Uekman + Uresidue

1km Configuration

HF radar dataBy Libe Washburn

Cyclonic eddy

The abscissa and ordinate are days in March 2002 and the water depth, respectively. The measurements are made at the UCLA mooring site in Santa Monica Bay.  The model is reasonably successful at simulating the observed upwelling response, and this depends on using a high-resolution regional wind reanalysis and the anomalous surface cooling from that reanalysis

Summary

• ROMS is employed to study the domain-scale circulation in Southern California Bight forced by MM5 and SODA.

• The model is integrated over eight-year (1996-2003)

• The mean circulation and its interannual, seasonal and intra-seasonal variability is presented in the numerical solution, and comparable with the available observation.

• 1km solution is used for SCCOOS operational forecast. it has the better performance in resolving the submesoscale structure and simulating the synoptic event.

Sorry for not being with you. Enjoy the wine at Dave’s house. ----Charles