Open AccessThe Role of Back Pressure in the Atmospheric Response to Surface Stress Induced by the Kuroshio
Author(s) -
Kohei Takatama,
Niklas Schneider
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
journal of the atmospheric sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.853
H-Index - 173
eISSN - 1520-0469
pISSN - 0022-4928
DOI - 10.1175/jas-d-16-0149.1
Subject(s) - geostrophic wind , wind stress , pressure gradient , boundary current , geology , surface pressure , advection , ocean current , atmospheric sciences , ocean dynamics , sea surface temperature , surface stress , boundary layer , ekman transport , environmental science , climatology , oceanography , mechanics , physics , upwelling , surface energy , thermodynamics
The effect of ocean current drag on the atmosphere is of interest as a test case for the role of back pressure, because the response is independent of the thermally induced modulation of the boundary layer stability and hydrostatic pressure. The authors use a regional atmospheric model to investigate the impact of drag induced by the Kuroshio in the East China Sea on the overlying winter atmosphere. Ocean currents dominate the wind stress curl compared to the impacts of sea surface temperature (SST) fronts. Wind stress convergences and divergences are weakly enhanced even though the ocean current is almost geostrophic. These modifications change the linear relationships (coupling coefficients) between the wind stress curl/divergence and the SST Laplacian, crosswind, and downwind gradients. Clear signatures of the ocean current impacts are found beyond the sea surface: sea surface pressure (back pressure) decreases near the current axis, and precipitation increases over the downwind region. However, these responses are very small despite strong Ekman pumping due to the current. A linear reduced gravity model is used to explain the boundary layer dynamics. The linear vorticity equation shows that the oceanic influence on wind stress curl is balanced by horizontal advection decoupling the boundary layer from the interior atmosphere. Spectral transfer functions are used to explain the general response of back pressure to geostrophic ocean currents and sea surface height.