Large-Scale Transport Processes in Oceans and Atmosphere: (190 NATO Science Series C)

One of the major experiments in earth science at the present time is about to begin: the World Climate Research Program (WCRP). The objectives of WCRP are to determine the extent to which climate change can be predicted, and the extent to which human activities (such as increasing the level of CO ) can influence our climate. 2 To understand and possibly to predict climate change, one needs a good understanding of the dynamics of the ocean, the atmosphere, and the processes by which they are coupled. Two major programs are being developed within WCRP: TOGA (Tropical Oceans, Global Atmosphere) and WOCE (World Ocean CirculatIon Experiment). The success of these programs will depend on many things, not least of which is the existence of a pool of active young researchers. This NATO Advanced Study Institute brought together students and young scientists from 13 countries, most of them from Europe and North America. The objective was to provide them with a background in the perceived state of knowledge of atmosphere and ocean dynamics, and to mediate a flavour of the problems presently concerning scientists active in climate related dynamics. In the past, the two disciplines of oceanography and meteorology have largely been carried out separately. But for climate research both disciplines must interact strongly, and another ob jecti ve of this school was to bring together both oceanographers and meteorologists. To promote an integrated approach, the lecture presentations were divided into two formats.

Table of Contents:
Building, Testing and Using a General Circulation Model.- 1. Building a General Circulation Model.- 2. Testing a GCM.- 3. Blocking in a GCM.- 4. Modeling the southern oscillation.- References.- Some Topics in the General Circulation of the Atmosphere.- Abstract.- 1. The observed seasonal mean atmospheric flow.- 2. Orographic and thermal forcing.- 3. Transients and the seasonal mean flow.- 4. Isentropic potential vorticity in the atmosphere.- Acknowledgement.- References.- Lectures on Ocean Circulation Dynamics.- 1. Vortex stretching and potential vorticity.- 2. Significance of the transport of potential vorticity by eddies.- 3. Relation with the dispersal and orbital motion of fluid particles.- 4. Wind-driven gyres.- Appendix: Scale analysis of the circulation integral.- References.- Thermohaline Effects in the Ocean Circulation and Related Simple Models.- 1. Historic background.- 2. The boussinesq approximation, and the density form models.- 3. Main thermocline regimes, and the role of vertical diffusion.- 4. Phenomena related to mixed boundary conditions.- 5. Thermal and thermohaline oscillators.- References.- Diagnostic Models of Ocean Circulation.- 1. Introduction.- 2. Water mass and isopycnal analysis.- 3. The dynamic method.- 4. The inverse method.- 5. The ß-spiral method.- 6. Summary and Outlook.- References.- Wind Driven Ocean Circulation Theory — Steady Free Flow.- Abstract.- 1. Introduction.- 2. Formulation.- 3. Steady-state solutions.- 4. Concluding remarks.- Acknowledgement.- References.- Coupled Ocean-Atmosphere Models of El Nino and the Southern Oscillation.- Abstract.- 1. Introduction.- 2. The model ocean.- 3. The model atmosphere.- 4. Results.- 5. Summary and Discussion.- Acknowledgements.- References.- Maximum Entropy Production as a Constraint inClimate Models.- 1. Introduction.- 2. Paltridge’s minimum entropy exchange principle.- 3. Attempts to justify Paltridge’s hypothesis.- 4. Application of the minimum entropy exchange principle in one dimensional energy balance models.- 5. Related studies.- 6. The entropy balance equation.- 7. Conclusions.- References.- Heat Transfer by Thermal Convection in a Rotating Fluid Subject to a Horizontal Temperature Gradient.- 1. Introduction.- 2. Geostrophy.- 3. Regimes of thermal convection in a rotating fluid annulus.- 4. Patterns of regular non-axisymmetric flow.- References.- Some Aspects of Turbulent Diffusion.- 1. Introduction.- 2. Kinematics of isotropic turbulence.- 3. Phenomenology of three-dimensional turbulence.- 4. Phenomenology of two-dimensional turbulence.- 5. Analytical theories of isotropic turbulence.- 6. Diffusion of temperature in stratified turbulence.- 7. Conclusion and discussion.- 8. Acknowledgements.- References.- Turbulent Diffusion in Large-Scale Flows.- 1. Introduction.- 2. Diffusion of a passive scalar in two-dimensional flow.- 3. Diffusion of vorticity in two-dimensional flow.- 4. Diffusion of potential vorticity in quasi-geostrophic flow.- References.