An Improved Parameterization of Wind-Driven Turbulent Vertical Mixing Based on an Eddy-Resolving Climate Model
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AbstractTurbulent vertical mixing in the stratified ocean interior has a huge impact on global ocean circulations and the climate system. Although parameterizations of vertical mixing furnished by internal tides have been built into stateoftheart coupled global climate models (CGCMs), efforts in parameterizing winddriven vertical mixing in CGCMs are still limited. In this study, we apply a modified finescale parameterization (MFP) to an eddyresolving Community Earth System Model (CESM) to represent the wind's contribution to vertical mixing in the stratified ocean interior. The spatial pattern of the MFPparameterized winddriven vertical mixing in the thermocline agrees with the observation derived from the finestructure measurements of Argo floats, reproducing the enhanced values in the Kuroshio, Gulf Stream extensions, and the Southern Ocean where the winds inject great amount of energy into the internal wave field. The MFP also captures the observed seasonal variation of winddriven vertical mixing in the thermocline of these regions that exhibits enhancement and weakening in winter and summer, respectively. Application of the MFP to a noneddyresolving CESM fails to reproduce the observed winddriven vertical mixing. Specifically, the magnitude of parameterized winddriven vertical mixing in the thermocline of Kuroshio, Gulf Stream extensions, and the Southern Ocean is systemically smaller than those in the observation and eddyresolving CESM; so is the case for the amplitude of seasonal cycle. The results highlight the benefit of eddyresolving CESM compared to its standardresolution counterpart in parameterizing the winddriven vertical mixing and provide insight into developing parameterizations for winddriven vertical mixing in eddyresolving CGCMs.
