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Modeling the Gulf Stream System: How far from reality?
Author(s) -
Chao Yi,
Gangopadhyay Avijit,
Bryan Frank O.,
Holland William R.
Publication year - 1996
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 - 10.1029/96gl03003
Subject(s) - gulf stream , geology , oceanography , ocean current , cape , structural basin , current (fluid) , climatology , geography , geomorphology , archaeology
Analyses of a primitive equation ocean model simulation of the Atlantic Ocean circulation at 1/6° horizontal resolution are presented with a focus on the Gulf Stream region. Among many successful features of this simulation, this letter describes the Gulf Stream separation from the coast of North America near Cape Hatteras, meandering of the Gulf Stream between Cape Hatteras and the Grand Banks, and the vertical structure of temperature and velocity associated with the Gulf Stream. These results demonstrate significant improvement in modeling the Gulf Stream system using basin‐ to global‐scale ocean general circulation models. Possible reasons responsible for the realistic Gulf Stream simulation are discussed, contrasting the major differences between the present model configuration and those of previous eddy‐resolving studies.