| Volumes and Issues Contents of Issue 3 |
www.geosci-model-dev-discuss.net/4/1907/2011/
doi:10.5194/gmdd-4-1907-2011
© Author(s) 2011. This work is distributed
under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
Simulating Southern Hemisphere extra-tropical climate variability with an idealized coupled atmosphere-ocean model
1Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, Research Unit Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
2A. M. Obukhov Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
3Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, Bremerhaven, Germany
4Institute of Oceanography, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
5SDA Software Design Ahnert GmbH, Berlin, Germany
*current address: Institute for Physics and Astronomy, Potsdam University, Potsdam, Germany
**formerly at: Max Planck Institute for Plasmaphysics, Muenchen-Garching, Germany
Abstract. The design and implementation of a simplified coupled atmosphere-ocean model over mid and high Southern Hemisphere latitudes are described. The development of the model is motivated by the clear indications of important low-frequency variability of extratropical origin in atmosphere-only models and the crucial role of atmosphere-ocean interaction in altering and shaping the climate variability on decadal and multidecadal time-scales. The basic model consists of an idealized quasi-geostrophic model of Southern Hemisphere's wintertime atmospheric circulation coupled to a general ocean circulation model with simplified physics. Model spin-up is described, some basic descriptors of the model climatology are discussed, and it is argued that the model exhibits skill in reproducing essential features of decadal and multi-decadal climate variability in the extratropical Southern Hemisphere. Notably, 1000 yr long coupled model simulations reveal sea surface temperature fluctuations on the timescale of several decades in the Antarctic Circumpolar Current region.
Discussion Paper (PDF, 4499 KB) Interactive Discussion (Final Response, 4 Comments) Manuscript under review for GMD
Citation: Kurzke, H., Kurgansky, M. V., Dethloff, K., Handorf, D., Olbers, D., Eden, C., and Sempf, M.: Simulating Southern Hemisphere extra-tropical climate variability with an idealized coupled atmosphere-ocean model, Geosci. Model Dev. Discuss., 4, 1907-1940, doi:10.5194/gmdd-4-1907-2011, 2011. Bibtex EndNote Reference Manager XML
