Bibliography - William J Hurlin

1. Gnanadesikan, Anand, Keith W Dixon, Stephen Griffies, Ventakramani Balaji, M Barreiro, J A Beesley, W F Cooke, Thomas L Delworth, R Gerdes, Matthew J Harrison, Isaac Held, William J Hurlin, H C Lee, Z Liang, G Nong, Ronald C Pacanowski, Anthony Rosati, J L Russell, Bonita L Samuels, Qian Song, Michael J Spelman, Ronald J Stouffer, C Sweeney, G A Vecchi, Michael Winton, Andrew T Wittenberg, Fanrong Zeng, Rong Zhang, and John Dunne, 2006: GFDL's CM2 Global Coupled Climate Models. Part II: The baseline ocean simulation. Journal of Climate, 19(5), doi:10.1175/JCLI3630.1.
   [ Abstract ]

   The current generation of coupled climate models run at the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL) as part of the Climate Change Science Program contains ocean components that differ in almost every respect from those contained in previous generations of GFDL climate models. This paper summarizes the new physical features of the models and examines the simulations that they produce. Of the two new coupled climate model versions 2.1 (CM2.1) and 2.0 (CM2.0), the CM2.1 model represents a major improvement over CM2.0 in most of the major oceanic features examined, with strikingly lower drifts in hydrographic fields such as temperature and salinity, more realistic ventilation of the deep ocean, and currents that are closer to their observed values. Regional analysis of the differences between the models highlights the importance of wind stress in determining the circulation, particularly in the Southern Ocean. At present, major errors in both models are associated with Northern Hemisphere Mode Waters and outflows from overflows, particularly the Mediterranean Sea and Red Sea.

2. Stouffer, Ronald J., Keith W Dixon, Michael J Spelman, William J Hurlin, J Yin, J M Gregory, A J Weaver, M Eby, G M Flato, D Y Robitaille, H Hasumi, A Oka, A Hu, J H Jungclaus, I V Kamenkovich, A Levermann, M Montoya, S Murakami, S Nawrath, W R Peltier, G Vettoretti, A P Sokolov, and S L Weber, 2006: Investigating the Causes of the Response of the Thermohaline Circulation to Past and Future Climate Changes. Journal of Climate, 19(8), doi:10.1175/JCLI3689.11.
   [ Abstract ]

   The Atlantic thermohaline circulation (THC) is an important part of the earth's climate system. Previous research has shown large uncertainties in simulating future changes in this critical system. The simulated THC response to idealized freshwater perturbations and the associated climate changes have been intercompared as an activity of World Climate Research Program (WCRP) Coupled Model Intercomparison Project/Paleo-Modeling Intercomparison Project (CMIP/PMIP) committees. This intercomparison among models ranging from the earth system models of intermediate complexity (EMICs) to the fully coupled atmosphere–ocean general circulation models (AOGCMs) seeks to document and improve understanding of the causes of the wide variations in the modeled THC response. The robustness of particular simulation features has been evaluated across the model results. In response to 0.1-Sv (1 Sv 106 m3 s−1) freshwater input in the northern North Atlantic, the multimodel ensemble mean THC weakens by 30% after 100 yr. All models simulate some weakening of the THC, but no model simulates a complete shutdown of the THC. The multimodel ensemble indicates that the surface air temperature could present a complex anomaly pattern with cooling south of Greenland and warming over the Barents and Nordic Seas. The Atlantic ITCZ tends to shift southward. In response to 1.0-Sv freshwater input, the THC switches off rapidly in all model simulations. A large cooling occurs over the North Atlantic. The annual mean Atlantic ITCZ moves into the Southern Hemisphere. Models disagree in terms of the reversibility of the THC after its shutdown. In general, the EMICs and AOGCMs obtain similar THC responses and climate changes with more pronounced and sharper patterns in the AOGCMs.

3. Gerdes, R, William J Hurlin, and Stephen Griffies, 2005: Sensitivity of a global ocean model to increased run-off from Greenland. Ocean Modelling, 12(3-4), doi:10.1016/j.ocemod.2005.08.003.
   [ Abstract ]

   We study the reaction of a global ocean–sea ice model to an increase of fresh water input into the northern North Atlantic under different surface boundary conditions, ranging from simple restoring of surface salinity to the use of an energy balance model (EBM) for the atmosphere. The anomalous fresh water flux is distributed around Greenland, reflecting increased melting of the Greenland ice sheet and increasing fresh water export from the Arctic Ocean. Depending on the type of surface boundary condition, the large circulation reacts with a slow-down of overturning and gyre circulations. Restoring of the total or mean surface salinity prevents a large scale redistribution of the salinity field that is apparent under mixed boundary conditions and with the EBM. The control run under mixed boundary conditions exhibits large and unrealistic oscillations of the meridional overturning. Although the reaction to the fresh water flux anomaly is similar to the response with the EBM, mixed boundary conditions must thus be considered unreliable. With the EBM, the waters in the deep western boundary current initially become saltier and a new fresh water mass forms in the north-eastern North Atlantic in response to the fresh water flux anomaly around Greenland. After an accumulation period of several decades duration, this new North East Atlantic Intermediate Water spreads towards the western boundary and opens a new southward pathway at intermediate depths along the western boundary for the fresh waters of high northern latitudes.

4. Philander, S G., and William J Hurlin, 1988: The heat budget of the tropical Pacific Ocean in a simulation of the 1982-83 El Niño. Journal of Physical Oceanography, 18(6), 926-931.
   [ Abstract PDF ]

   The heat budget of a model that realistically simulates the 1982-83 El Niño indicates that the enormous changes in the winds during that event failed to disrupt the usual seasonal variations in meridional heat transport. Cross-equatorial transport towards the winter hemisphere continued as in a regular seasonal cycle. The key factor was the continued seasonal migrations of the ITCZ during El Niño. In early 1983 the ITCZ strayed farther south than usual and remained near the equator longer than usual thus causing an increase in the northward heat transport. This, together with an increase in the evaporative heat loss because of higher sea surface temperatures, resulted in a large loss of heat from the band of latitudes approximately 12°N - 12°S during El Niño.

5. Philander, S G., William J Hurlin, and Ronald C Pacanowski, 1987: Initial conditions for a general circulation model of tropical oceans. Journal of Physical Oceanography, 17(1), 147-157.
   [ Abstract PDF ]

   A general circulation model of the tropical Pacific Ocean, which realistically simulates El Niño of 1982-83, has been used to determine how different initial conditions affect the model. Given arbitrary initial conditions (not in equilibrium with the wind) the model takes almost a year to return to a state in which the currents and density gradients are in equilibrium with the winds. Errors in the absolute value of the temperature persist far longer, however, indicating that accurate density data are essential initial conditions. If the correct density field is specified initially, but no information is provided about the currents, then the model recovers the currents within an inertial period, except for the eastern equatorial region. That region is affected by equatorial Kelvin waves which are excited because the model is initially in an unbalanced state. The currents associated with these waves are relatively modest and do not affect the density field significantly. Because of the large zonal scale of the thermal field in the tropical Pacific, three or four high resolution meridional density sections appear adequate for the initialization of the model. This result, however, takes into account neither the energetic waves, with a scale of 1000 km, that are associated with instabilities of the equatorial currents nor other high frequency fluctuations in the ocean.

6. Philander, S G., William J Hurlin, and A D Siegel, 1987: Simulation of the seasonal cycle of the tropical Pacific Ocean. Journal of Physical Oceanography, 17(11), 1986-2002.
   [ Abstract PDF ]

   In a general circulation model of the tropical Pacific Ocean forced with climatological seasonally varying winds, equatorial upwelling and downwelling in adjacent latitudes play central roles in closing the oceanic circulation. The transport of the eastward North Equatorial Countercurrent decreases in a downstream direction because fluid is lost to downwelling into the thermocline where there is equatorward motion. Although this fluid converges onto the Equatorial Undercurrent, the latter's transport decreases because of equatorial upwelling. The upwelling, on the other hand, enhances the transport of the westward South Equatorial Current. Seasonally, the Countercurrent and South Equatorial Current are intense during the Northern Hemisphere summer and fall, at which time the thermocline has pronounced trough near 3°N and a ridge near 10°N, and are weak in the spring when latitudinal thermal gradients are small and when the southeast trades are relatively weak. These variations are out of phase with those of the Equatorial Undercurrent, which is most intense in the spring. The seasonal changes are associated with considerable variations in the meridional heat transport, especially across 9°N. The heat transport is always towards the winter hemisphere. During the northern winter, Ekman drift in the central Pacific affects the northward transport of warm surface waters. During the northern summer, when the ITCZ is near 9°N and the winds there are weak, the Ekman drift across 9°N is small. The relatively steady southward flow of warm surface waters across 9°N in the far western Pacific now contributes significantly to the southward heat transport. Seasonally there is both this meridional and a zonal redistribution of warm surface waters in the upper tropical Pacific Ocean. The zonal redistribution, from west to east, contributes to high sea surface temperatures in the east in April when the Equatorial Undercurrent surges eastward and attains its highest speed and transport during the period of weak southwest tradewinds. Increased heat flux across the ocean surface at this time also contributes to the warming of the upper equatorial ocean. Seasonal wind variations west of the dateline have little effect on the eastern tropical Pacific in the model.

7. Philander, S G., William J Hurlin, and Ronald C Pacanowski, 1986: Properties of long equatorial waves in models of the seasonal cycle in the tropical Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Journal of Geophysical Research, 91(C12), 14,207-14,211.
   [ Abstract PDF ]

   In general circulation models of the seasonal cycle, westward propagating waves, with an approximate wavelength of 1000 km and period of 3 to 4 weeks, in the western equatorial Atlantic and eastern equatorial Pacific derive their energy from the kinetic and potential energy of the mean flow. There is intense downwelling the cold crests of the wave and upwelling in the warm troughs. The local meridional heat flux associated with the waves is of the order of 100 W m-2, but their contribution to the net heat transport across the equator is small. The waves are highly nonstationary in time and inhomogenous in space.

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