ORCA page

Some preliminary exploration and a few comparisons to XBT data
  1. Figuring out the grid: 
    1. Basic grid facts: u(i,j)   v(i,j)
    2. Near New Britain: u(i,j)   v(i,j)
    3. -extract grids: Zonal   Meridional
    4. Grid maps of the island gaps:
            NC-Vanuatu   Vanuatu-Solomons   Solomons-New Britain
            New Britain-New Guinea   New Guinea-Cape York   Australia-facing-NC
    5. Grid at each depth around the Solomon Islands (all maps in one file)
      Grids by depth showing WBC points
    6. Bathymetry around the Solomon Islands: 
      etopo2   Smith & Sandwell    Include Solomon Strait   Include Solomon Sea   
    7. Bathymetry in the ORCA model:
      1. Solomon Sea   Solomon Islands   
      2. Sill depths: Crude   Careful: compare Smith/Sandwell   (Unstretched)   Running area of straits
        See plots of S&S bathymetry at the bottom of the IFREMER page (section 10f)

  2. Lionels strait-letter key

  3. Streamfunction
    1. W Pacific
    2. Island Rule vs No-islands zonal transport   Difference
    3. Compare ORCA zonal transport: Streamfunction   Zonal transport

  4. Variance ellipses:
    1. Annual cycle: Whole region   NC-Solomons
    2. Interannual: Whole region   NC-Solomons

  5. Sections across the EAC:
    1. Line plot of mean transport
    2. Time series of total v
    3. Centers of jets
    4. Interannual total   Anomalies

  6. ORCA sampled on the Auckland-Bismarck Strait XBT track:
    1. Mean u on the track (Total and rel 512m)
    2. Interannual transport time series: Full depth   Above 400m   Relative to 400m
         Compare transport from IFREMER XBTs
    3. Transport in the gap between NC and the Solomons (interannual = 185-day running mean anomalies): 
      1. ORCA total, above 400m, and relative to 400m
      2. Overlay XBT and ORCA transports   Add ORCA actual NC-Solomons transport
      3. Transport and the SOI: ORCA and XBT transport   XBT only
      4. Look at the NCJ and NVJ individually:
        1. NCJ and NVJ with the SOI   (ORCA relative to 400m)
        2. RMS of ORCA and XBT transport   Correlation of shallow and deep ORCA u
        3. NCJ and NVJ timeseries   Compare each jet t2b vs rel 400m: NCJ   NVJ
      5. Interannual transport across 162°E (ORCA and RW model)   Annual (ORCA, RW and CARS)

  7. Coral Sea inflow/outflow transport time series
    1. Coral Sea transport time series   Overlay SOI   
    2. Correlations among Coral Sea transport time series
    3. Correlations with the SOI: SEC   EAC   NGCC   Combined   
    4. Also see relevant TOPEX figures below: "Compare Tidegauges and Topex"

  8. Western boundary work:
    1. Bathymetry around the tip of PNG: 
      1. Large region   Detail   Finer detail   Finer than that (Milne Bay passage)
      2. Profiles across the Milne Bay passage   Compare Lombok St   Overlay
      3. Smith and Sandwell bathymetry: Milne Bay passage   Profiles   Compare Lombok: Lombok   Overlay
      4. ORCA bottom depth (v) and WBC transport
      5. Other collection of bathymetry
    2. Circulation around the tip of PNG (Vectors at most levels)
      Compare CARS geostrophy rel 2000m
      Salinity on corresponding levels   Compare CARS
    3. Transport magnitude of the NQC-NGCC system: On x,y grid   (boundary lines)
         On i,j grid   Include EAC   Show v-grid
      Transport magnitude RMS
    4. Estimating the NQC transport:
      1. Sections of Int(v)dz at different latitudes
      2. NQC transport as a function of (y,t): Contours   Overlaid timeseries
      3. NQC transport and the SOI
      4. Compare the ORCA NQC and the Rossby model solution
           Interannual variability. RW model is offshore thermocline depth.
           Combined NQC and NGCC ORCA-Rossby comparison
           RMS of NQC and NGCC transport (fn of z)
    5. Estimating the NGCC transport:
      1. Sections across the NGCC: Mean v   Maximum v   Minimum v (Note labels wrong: 8.82°S > 8.22°S)
      2. Vertically-integrated v in the Solomon Sea: Mean   Maximum   Minimum   
      3. Time series of NGCC v at 8.72°S at 5, 95, 272m (and mean)
      4. NGCC transport time series:
        1. Overlaid time series at all latitudes
        2. NGCC and NQC   Overlay SOI
      5. Compare the ORCA NGCC and the Rossby model solution
    6. EAC transport:
      1. Mean(y)   Time series (y,t)   Anomalies (y,t)
      2. Compare the Rossby model (doesn't work) (plots at each latitude from 22.5°S-28.5°S)
    7. Estimating the bifurcation according to Firing et al (1999) principle:
      "... an inflow to the boundary current will split, with fraction (y-y_s)/(y_n-y_s) going north, and the remainder going south"
      Use ORCA zonal current at 163°E as inflow to the WB.
      Do calculation on density levels. [Note that this work was done in the cars directory]
      1. Inflow estimate: u(163°E,y,z)   Overlay density   u(163°E,y,sigma)
        Compare ORCA u: (y,z)   (y,density)   (y,z,overlay sigma)   (Also see CARS analogies below)
      2. WBC flow (y,sigma)   Vertical integral   WBC flow(y,z)
        Overlay CARS bifurcation, too: WBC flow (y,sigma)   WBC flow(y,z)
      3. Intermediate plots and stuff: 
        Sigma layer thicknesses: ORCA   CARS   Extended latitudes: ORCA to 10°N   CARS to 50°S   
        u(163°E from CARS): (y,z)   (Overlay sigma)   (To 50°S)   (y,sigma)   (To 50°S)   

  9. Solomon Islands WBC, etc: (See also the IFREMER page, section 10)
    1. Extract the WBC along the east coast of the Solomons:
      1. Grid at each depth around the Solomon Islands (all maps in one file)
        Grids by depth showing WBC points
      2. Mean WBC along the coast
        u(162°E) input to WBC
      3. Mean transports of the cross-island straits (vertical profiles)
      4. Time series of the straits transports:
        Time series of 3 totals overlaid
        Individual transport (fn of z): Guadalcanal-SanCristobal   Shallow   Bougainville-Choiseul
        Shallow straits vs Honiara tide gauge
      5. Correlation of WBC with point at 7°S,159°E, 512m
      6. Examples of extremes of the WBC
      7. Compare WBC variability to incoming u at 165°E
    2. Annual cycle:
      1. Time series of the straits transports:
        Time series of 3 totals overlaid
        Individual transport (fn of z): Guadalcanal-SanCristobal   Shallow   Bougainville-Choiseul
      2. Correlation of WBC with point at 7°S,159°E, 512m
      3. 1 cpy phase of WBC
    3. Regional circulation (SECC): (See also the IFREMER page, section 10)
        MEAN (mostly)
      1. Vectors at 45, 272, 512, 732m (Region 150°E-165°E)   Focus on the Solomon Sea
        Mean 0-100m currents in the Solomon Islands region   Mean top-to-bottom transport
      2. ORCA SECC transport as a fn of x   (Time variability)   (compare straits transport)
      3. SECC time series from full, interannual and annual cycle files
        Mean SECC transport from full, interannual and annual cycle files
           (Differences arise from integrating positive u only each timestep)
      4. Slices of the mean SECC: (x,y),(x,z),(y,z)
        INTERANNUAL (mostly)
      5. Examples of the SECC at peak extent
      6. SECC and Solomon Islands shallow transport: Annual cycle   Internannual
        ANNUAL CYCLE MAPS
      7. Bimonthly maps of upper layer zonal transport
      8. Velocity and transport: ORCA 0-100m (6 bimonths)   Ekman pumping (6 bimonths)
        JFM and JAS seasons: 0-100m velocity   (Anomalies)   0-100m transport   (Anomalies)
        U_g for ULT due to: Rossby model  and  Ekman pumping
    4. Solomon Sea inflow/outflow work (July 05)
      1. Figuring out the sill depths re 20°C    Also see figs 1.g.2 above ("Sill depths").
      2. Annual cycle transport balance in/out of the Solomon Sea
        1. Straits transports above 20°C    Top-to-bottom   (Pos north)
        2. Trans-island transports above 20°C   (Individuals)   Top-to-bottom
        3. Compare ORCA SSH and Z20 1cpy phase: Observed   Phase difference
        4. ORCA mean and 1 cpy transports across the gaps: NG-NB   NB-SI   NG-SI(1000m)   NG-SI(500m)   NG-SI(Vector harmonic)   
      3. Interannual transport balance in/out of the Solomon Sea
        1. Straits transports above 20°C    Top-to-bottom
        2. Trans-island transports above 20°C
      4. Topex-ORCA SSH comparisons:
        1. Correlations: S Pacific unfiltered   Solomon Sea region unfiltered   Interannual
        2. Topex and ORCA 1 cpy phase   Phase difference
        3. EOFs of Topex: EOFs   TAFs   d(EOF)/dy: u
    5. Topex correlations across the Solomon Islands:
      1. Time series of Topex SSH along 8.5°S from 155°E to 175°E
      2. Time series of annual u_g from Topex spanning the Solomons
      3. Correlations of SSH across the Solomons: Interannnual   Annual cycle
      4. Annual cycle u_g correlation
      5. IFREMER XBT work (See section 9)
    6. Relevant comparisons with CARS:
      1. ORCA and CARS u along 165°E
      2. CARS u_g at 0,200,400,500,750,1000m   (another version)
      3. ORCA u at 5,45,511,732m   With overlaid vectors (Surface, 55m, 95m, 159m)
    7. Firing Island Rule
      1. Measured time series of the WBC (vertical integral)
      2. u input at 165°E and resulting WBC
           (Check sampling along 165°E rather than Solomons coast:
           u at 165°E and just east of coastal BL   Lag in days to coast)
      3. Compare ORCA, Topex and Rossby model: SSH   u_g
           Examples of SSH: Large region   Detail
        Firing IR from Rossby model
      4. Show effect of island straits
      5. Compare Firing island rule and measured WBC

  10. Finally getting around to write the paper .....

    See plots on a NEW PAGE

  • What causes the EAC to vary interannually?   Some investigation of a few possibilities ....
    This work has now expanded to the point where it needs its own page: EAC/Rossby model work
    All the plots that used to be here are now there (plus many more).
    Return to main page

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