Posted by Steve Morey on December 03, 2001 at 10:40:37:
I think this is a good example of how a suite of numerical experiments with different physics or configurations can be used to explain the dynamics of a particular oceanographic phenomenon. This work leads naturally to some questions which the authors or others may have since explored:
The virtual poster focuses on the mean state of the ocean. I suppose a next step might be to look at the variability of the current system around the Hawaiian Archipelago. I wonder what impact impinging mid-latitude Rossby Waves or variations of the basin-scale wind stress may have on the NHRC.
The authors describe an "ubiquitous sea of eddies". Is the NHRC a robust feature or seen primarily only in the mean due to eddy transport of mass along the island chain? The high-resolution model used here would permit the study of how eddies interact with the island chain and gaps in the porous barrier (e.g. Simmons and Nof, JMR 2000 and related works). These eddies will not be simulated in the linear simulation so could it also be that the change in transports through the channels from the linear experiment to the nonlinear experiment could have to do with the interactions of eddies and island gaps?
Nice poster. Hopefully other viewers will have some thoughts to present here.