The pressure gradient conundrum of sigma coordinate ocean models

G. L. Mellor, T. Ezer, L. Y. Oey

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

332 Scopus citations

Abstract

It is shown that the differencing scheme cited here, though conventional, is not hydrostatically inconsistent; the sigma coordinate, pressure gradient error decreases with the square of the vertical and horizontal grid size. Furthermore, it is shown that the pressure gradient error is advectively eliminated after a long time integration. At the other extreme, it is shown that diagnostic calculations of the North Atlantic Ocean using rather coarse resolution, and where the temperature and salinity and the pressure gradient error are held constant, do not exhibit significant differences when compared to a calculation where horizontal pressure gradients are computed on z-level coordinates. Finally, a way of canceling the error ab initio is suggested. -from Authors

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1126-1134
Number of pages9
JournalJournal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology
Volume11
Issue number4 part 2
DOIs
StatePublished - 1994

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