Gulf of Mexico, Yucatan Straits and Caribbean Sea

Simulations with the Princeton Ocean Model

(Supported by ONR & MMS)

Collection of Figures and Animations



Animations:

Surface Salinity on the Northern GOM Shelf: 1992 , 1993 , 1994

SSH and Geostrophic Vel. from Altimeter data: 1992-1995 (9mb gif) , 1996-1999 (12mb gif)

Effect of Hurricane Georges on SST and SSH

Effect of Hurricane Roxanne on SSH

Simulation of GOM Loop Current eddy shedding (7mb gif)

Yucatan Straits flow: Basin Model , hi-res PROFS

Horizontal flow at different depths averaged over a period when LC is growing (0.5mb gif)

Horizontal flow at different depths averaged over a period when LC is steady after eddy has been shed (0.5mb gif)

Figures:

Yucatan Transpot Time Series Fig. 1. Top 1000m and Total , Fig. 2. Bot(in), Bot(out) & Top(out) , Fig. 3. Bot(in) & Bot(out) , Fig. 4. Bot(east) & Bot(west) ,

Flow trajectories at 1500m showing the source of Yucatan Straits deep water when LC is growing and when LC is retreating (0.1mb ps)

Yucatan flow section when LC growing and when LC retreating (1mb ps)

Yucatan mean and rms flow section (45kb gif)

Yucatan mean Sigma-T section (13kb gif)

Time series of LC position and Yucatan deep flow (9kb ps)

Spectra & coherence between LC position and Yucatan deep flow (26kb ps)

References:

Most of the results obtained from a North Atlantic model (5N-50N), forced by monthly COADS climatological surface data; the model configuration is described in:

Ezer,T., On the seasonal mixed-layer simulated by a basin-scale ocean model and the Mellor-Yamada turbelence scheme, J. Geophys. Res., 105(C7),16,843-16,855, 2000.

Ezer,T. and G. L. Mellor, Sensitivity studies with the North Atlantic sigma coordinate Princeton Ocean Model, Dyn. Atmos. Ocean, 32, 185-208, 2000.