|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sabrina Speich: Sabrina.Speich@univ-brest.fr |
|
Abstract >>
Problem >>
Strategy >>
Routes >>
Three Paths >>
Warm, Cold and Tepid Routes >>
Comparison with other GCMs >>
A17 Comparison
ABSTRACT
|
We pose here a general question that arises in physical oceanography: where does the water come from and where does it go? As a response, transports (usually expressed in Sverdrups: 1 Sv (106 m3/s) and pathways are often produced by merging distinct sources of data and matching available pieces of knowledge, on a basin (Schmitz and McCartney, 1993) or global scale (Macdonald and Wunsch, 1996; Schmitz, 1996 ). We show in this study that the output of complex ocean models can be analyzed in a Lagrangian way (Döös, 1995; Blanke and Raynaud, 1997; Blanke et al., 1999, Speich et al., 2001) so that equivalent schemes might be produced, completing the physical understanding of the three-dimensional ocean circulation. Our main results consist of an objective and quantitative estimate of the upper branch of the global thermohaline circulation with its interbasin mass transfers and the picture of the associated mean pathways. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sabrina Speich: Sabrina.Speich@univ-brest.fr |
|
