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Evaluation of the applicability of the Estimated State of the Global Ocean for Climate Research (ESTOC) data set
Author(s) -
Osafune S.,
Masuda S.,
Sugiura N.,
Doi T.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1002/2015gl064538
Subject(s) - data assimilation , climatology , ocean observations , ocean heat content , anomaly (physics) , environmental science , data set , meteorology , ocean current , geology , oceanography , computer science , geography , physics , condensed matter physics , artificial intelligence
A long‐term data synthesis experiment was conducted for the period 1957–2011 using a modified quasi‐global four‐dimensional variational data assimilation system that was originally developed to improve the representation of the deep ocean, including a unique method for anomaly assimilation. The overall characteristics of the resulting ocean state estimate, which is dynamically consistent without any artificial sources or sinks for heat and salt, are evaluated in the Pacific Ocean. It is shown that the data set better represents the comprehensive ocean state: the mean state of the water mass distribution and volume transport and components of temporal variability from the sea surface to the bottom on interannual to multidecadal timescales. This suggests that the data set can be used to examine interactions between temporal variations throughout the entire depth range and is useful for understanding ocean physics and its role in the climate system.