Evaluation of a Coupled Modeling Approach for the Investigation of the Effects of SST Mesoscale Variability on the Atmosphere

Abstract

It is well established that the large-scale oceanic fronts associated with the Kuroshio Extension and the Gulf Stream anchor the entrance regions of the midlatitude atmospheric storm tracks of the Northern Hemisphere (e.g., Nakamura et al., 2004Nakamura et al., , 2008. It is also widely accepted that the SST anomalies associated with the ocean mesoscale eddies that form along the large scale oceanic fronts have a major effect on the atmospheric boundary layer (e.g., Chelton & Xi, 2010;Small et al., 2008;Xie, 2004). The deeper tropospheric effects of SST mesoscale variability, however, are less understood and have been the subject of ongoing research. For instance, Woollings et al. (2010) found a subtle, but significant effect on the midlatitude storm tracks in simulations with a limited area version of the Hadley Center's third generation atmospheric model.

Evaluation of a Coupled Modeling Approach for the Investigation of the Effects of SST Mesoscale Variability on the Atmosphere

“…This spatial distribution of the eddy kinetic energy suggests that in the control experiment the upstream generation of eddy kinetic energy is reduced and its downstream propagation is modified by the differences in the large-scale atmospheric flow. (A detailed analysis of the related differences in the energy conversion processes can be found in an earlier, preprint version of the present paper (Szunyogh et al, 2021). )…”