Effects of numerical model's horizontal resolution on the vertical transport of near-inertial energy

Abstract

Reproducing kinetic energy transport from the wind (mostly near inertial kinetic energy, NIKE) to the interior ocean is one of the most important issues in climate change numerical studies. Data recorded by two buoys in the South China Sea, which survived Typhoon Kalmaegi (2014), show that the NIKE can be transported into the deeper ocean in an anticyclonic rather than in a cyclonic eddy. Numerical experiments with three horizontal resolutions reveal that the increase in the model resolution enhances the enstrophy and advection, deepening NIKE transport and better reproducing the NIKE vertical distribution as observed. The present study finds that the horizontal resolution of a model can significantly impact the depth towards which the NIKE can be transported, further implicating that the increase of the model resolution is an essential step to improve the accuracy of a climate model.