Nyadjro, E. S., Jensen, T. G., Richman, J. G., & Shriver, J. F. (2017). On the Relationship Between Wind, SST, and the Thermocline in the Seychelles-Chagos Thermocline Ridge. IEEE Geosci. Remote Sensing Lett. , 14 (12), 2315–2319.
Nyadjro, E. S., Rydbeck, A. V., Jensen, T. G., Richman, J. G., & Shriver, J. F. (2020). On the Generation and Salinity Impacts of Intraseasonal Westward Jets in the Equatorial Indian Ocean. J. Geophys. Res. Oceans , 125 (6), e2020JC016066.
Abstract: While westerly winds dominate the equatorial Indian Ocean and generate the well‐known eastward flowing Wyrtki Jets during boreal spring and fall, there is evidence of a strong westward surface jet during winter that is swifter than eastward currents during that season. A weaker westward jet is found in summer. In this study, we report the occurrence, characteristics, and intraseasonal variability of this westward jet and its impact on mixed layer salinity in the equatorial Indian Ocean using the HYbrid Coordinate Ocean Model (HYCOM) reanalysis with the Navy Coupled Ocean Data Assimilation (NCODA). The westward jet typically occurs in the upper 50 m, above an eastward flowing equatorial undercurrent, with peak westward volume transport of approximately −8 Sv. The westward jet builds up gradually, decays rapidly, and is primarily forced by local intraseasonal wind stress anomalies generated by atmospheric intraseasonal convection. Westward acceleration of the jet occurs when the dominant intraseasonal westward wind anomaly is not balanced by the zonal pressure gradient (ZPG) force. The intraseasonal westward jet generates strong horizontal advection and is the leading cause of mixed layer freshening in the western equatorial Indian Ocean. Without it, a saltier mixed layer would persist and weaken any barrier layers. Existing barrier layers are strengthened following the passage of freshwater‐laden westward jets. Deceleration of the westward jet occurs when the eastward ZPG becomes increasingly important and the westward intraseasonal wind anomalies weaken. A rapid reversal of atmospheric intraseasonal convection‐driven surface winds eventually terminates the westward jet.
Nyadjro, E. S., Subrahmanyam, B., Murty, V. S. N., & Shriver, J. F. (2012). The role of salinity on the dynamics of the Arabian Sea mini warm pool. J. Geophys. Res. , 117 (C9), n/a-n/a.
Savage, A. C., Arbic, B. K., Alford, M. H., Ansong, J. K., Farrar, J. T., Menemenlis, D., et al. (2017). Spectral decomposition of internal gravity wave sea surface height in global models. J. Geophys. Res. Oceans , 122 (10), 7803–7821.
Savage, A. C., Arbic, B. K., Alford, M. H., Ansong, J. K., Farrar, J. T., Menemenlis, D., et al. (2017). Spectral decomposition of internal gravity wave sea surface height in global models: INTERNAL GRAVITY WAVE SEA SURFACE HEIGHT. J. Geophys. Res. Oceans , 122 (10), 7803–7821.
Abstract: Two global ocean models ranging in horizontal resolution from 1/128 to 1/488 are used to study the space and time scales of sea surface height (SSH) signals associated with internal gravity waves (IGWs). Frequency-horizontal wavenumber SSH spectral densities are computed over seven regions of the world ocean from two simulations of the HYbrid Coordinate Ocean Model (HYCOM) and three simulations of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology general circulation model (MITgcm). High wavenumber, high-frequency SSH variance follows the predicted IGW linear dispersion curves. The realism of high-frequency motions (>0:87 cpd) in the models is tested through comparison of the frequency spectral density of dynamic height variance computed from the highest-resolution runs of each model (1/258 HYCOM and 1/488 MITgcm) with dynamic height variance frequency spectral density computed from nine in situ profiling instruments. These high-frequency motions are of particular interest because of their contributions to the small-scale SSH variability that will be observed on a global scale in the upcoming Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite altimetry mission. The variance at supertidal frequencies can be comparable to the tidal and low-frequency variance for high wavenumbers (length scales smaller than 50 km), especially in the higher-resolution simulations. In the highest-resolution simulations, the high-frequency variance can be greater than the low-frequency variance at these scales.
Savage, A. C., Arbic, B. K., Richman, J. G., Shriver, J. F., Alford, M. H., Buijsman, M. C., et al. (2017). Frequency content of sea surface height variability from internal gravity waves to mesoscale eddies. J. Geophys. Res. Oceans , 122 (3), 2519–2538.
Smedstad, O. M., Hurlburt, H. E., Metzger, E. J., Rhodes, R. C., Shriver, J. F., Wallcraft, A. J., et al. (2003). An operational Eddy resolving 1/16° global ocean nowcast/forecast system. Journal of Marine Systems , 40-41 , 341–361.
Tilburg, C. E., Hurlburt, H. E., O'Brien, J. J., & Shriver, J. F. (2001). The Dynamics of the East Australian Current System: The Tasman Front, the East Auckland Current, and the East Cape Current. J. Phys. Oceanogr. , 31 (10), 2917–2943.
Tilburg, C. E., Hurlburt, H. E., O'Brien, J. J., & Shriver, J. F. (2002). Remote Topographic Forcing of a Baroclinic Western Boundary Current: An Explanation for the Southland Current and the Pathway of the Subtropical Front East of New Zealand*. J. Phys. Oceanogr. , 32 (11), 3216–3232.
Timko, P. G., Arbic, B. K., Hyder, P., Richman, J. G., Zamudio, L., O'Dea, E., et al. (2019). Assessment of shelf sea tides and tidal mixing fronts in a global ocean model. Ocean Modelling , 136 , 66–84.
Abstract: Tidal mixing fronts, which represent boundaries between stratified and tidally mixed waters, are locations of enhanced biological activity. They occur in summer shelf seas when, in the presence of strong tidal currents, mixing due to bottom friction balances buoyancy production due to seasonal heat flux. In this paper we examine the occurrence and fidelity of tidal mixing fronts in shelf seas generated within a global 3-dimensional simulation of the HYbrid Coordinate Ocean Model (HYCOM) that is simultaneously forced by atmospheric fields and the astronomical tidal potential. We perform a first order assessment of shelf sea tides in global HYCOM through comparison of sea surface temperature, sea surface tidal elevations, and tidal currents with observations. HYCOM was tuned to minimize errors in M2 sea surface heights in deep water. Over the global coastal and shelf seas (depths <200 m) the area-weighted root mean square error of the M2 sea surface amplitude in HYCOM represents 35% of the 50 cm root mean squared M2 sea surface amplitude when compared to satellite constrained models TPXO8 and FES2014. HYCOM and the altimeter constrained tidal models TPXO8 and FES2014 exhibit similar skill in reproducing barotropic tidal currents estimated from in-situ current meter observations. Through comparison of a global HYCOM simulation with tidal forcing to a global HYCOM simulation with no tides, and also to previous regional studies of tidal mixing fronts in shelf seas, we demonstrate that HYCOM with embedded tides exhibits quite high skill in reproducing known tidal mixing fronts in shelf seas. Our results indicate that the amount of variability in the location of the tidal mixing fronts in HYCOM, estimated using the Simpson-Hunter parameter, is consistent with previous studies when the differences in the net downward heat flux, on a global scale, are taken into account. We also provide evidence of tidal mixing fronts on the North West Australian Shelf for which we have been unable to find references in the existing scientific literature.