Ocean mixing with lead-dependent subgrid scale brine rejection parameterization in a climate model

Abstract

Sea ice thickness is highly spatially variable and can cause uneven ocean heat and salt flux on subgrid scales in climate models. Previous studies have demonstrated improvements in ocean mixing simulation using parameterization schemes that distribute brine rejection directly in the upper ocean mixed layer. In this study, idealized ocean model experiments were conducted to examine modeled ocean mixing errors as a function of the lead fraction in a climate model grid. When the lead is resolved by the grid, the added salt at the sea surface will sink to the base of the mixed layer and then spread horizontally. When averaged at a climate-model grid size, this vertical distribution of added salt is lead-fraction dependent. When the lead is unresolved, the model errors were systematic leading to greater surface salinity and deeper mixed-layer depth (MLD). An empirical function was developed to revise the added-salt-related parameter n from being fixed to lead-fraction dependent. Application of this new scheme in a climate model showed significant improvement in modeled wintertime salinity and MLD as compared to series of CTD data sets in 1997/1998 and 2006/2007. The results showed the most evident improvement in modeled MLD in the Arctic Basin, similar to that using a fixed n=5, as recommended by the previous Arctic regional model study, in which the parameter n obtained is close to 5 due to the small lead fraction in the Arctic Basin in winter.