Effect of improved subgrid scale transport of tracers on uptake of bomb radiocarbon in the GFDL Ocean General Circulation Model

Abstract

We show that the Gent‐McWilliams tracer transport parameterization greatly improves the ability of the GFDL ocean general circulation model to simulate vertical profiles of both temperature and bomb radiocarbon with a single set of model parameter values. This parameterization, which includes new advection terms as well as isopycnal mixing, has previously been shown to greatly improve simulated temperature fields. Here, we show that it does not markedly affect the already good simulation of oceanic absorption of bomb radiocarbon, and discuss the reasons for this result.