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A new approach to improved SST anomaly simulations using altimeter data: Parameterizing entrainment temperature from sea level
Author(s) -
Zhang RongHua,
Busalacchi Antonio J.,
Murtugudde Raghuram G.,
Hackert Eric C.,
BallabreraPoy Joaquim
Publication year - 2004
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 - 10.1029/2003gl019237
Subject(s) - altimeter , thermocline , anomaly (physics) , sea surface temperature , climatology , empirical orthogonal functions , geology , environmental science , meteorology , geodesy , physics , condensed matter physics
Observed Topex/Poseidon/Jason‐1 (T/P/J) altimeter sea level (SL) data are used to improve an empirical parameterization of the temperature of subsurface water entrained into the mixed layer (T e ). An inverse modeling method is first adopted to estimate T e from a SST anomaly (SSTA) equation using observed SST and simulated upper ocean currents from an intermediate ocean model (IOM). An empirical relationship between anomalies of T e (estimated) and SL (observed) from T/P/J altimeter is then constructed by utilizing a singular value decomposition (SVD) of their covariance. As compared with SSTA simulations using modeled SL data, the use of T/P/J SL data allows observed information about dynamic ocean adjustments to be built directly into the empirical T e model being used to parameterize the thermocline effect on SSTAs. The improved T e model leads to better SSTA simulations in the tropical Pacific. Cross validation is made to examine the sensitivity of the SSTA simulations to the period chosen for training the T e model. The proposed approach provides a new way to more effectively use T/P/J altimeter data in climate studies.