We analyze high-resolution hydrodynamic modeling data using the Massachusetts Institute of Technology general circulation model (MITgcm), which is a numerical model designed for the study of the atmosphere, ocean, and climate. The focus of the research is the Lofoten vortex of the Norwegian Sea. We study vertical velocities in the Lofoten vortex using simulations of MITgcm. The zonal and meridional vertical cross-sections of the vertical velocity distributions demonstrate the increase in values of them. We also study seasonal and inter-annual variability of the vertical velocities in the Lofoten vortex. The spatial distributions of the Lofoten vortex in the upper layers (95 m) has a random character in winter (December-April). The values of the vertical velocities have opposite signs in adjacent cells, and vectors of the vertical velocities are directed in opposite directions. However, already by summer, an ordered structure is formed characteristic of the rest of the year. At the lower horizons (1000 m), the distribution of vertical velocities in winter and summer does differ insignificantly. We establish that the vortex can be divided into 4 sectors with alternating directions of the vertical velocities at each horizon. The negative velocities are characteristic of the northeastern and southwestern sectors, with maximum values in the northeastern sector, and positive ones are characteristic of the southeastern and northwestern sectors. An analysis of the Lagrangian particles in the Lofoten vortex shows that the particles in the upper layers (200 m) rotate around the axis of the vortex. Moreover, they tend to move to the surface while this tendency is different in the lower layers (1000 m) where the particles can move both to the surface and in the opposite direction. The particles initially for the all horizons initially located in the central part of the vortex, move to the periphery of the vortex as the result of the rotation.
Translated title of the contributionHYDRODYNAMIC MODELLING OF VERTICAL VELOCITIES IN THE LOFOTEN VORTEX
Original languageRussian
Pages (from-to)575-585
JournalИЗВЕСТИЯ РОССИЙСКОЙ АКАДЕМИИ НАУК. ФИЗИКА АТМОСФЕРЫ И ОКЕАНА
Volume56
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Oct 2020

    Research areas

  • MITgcm, Lofoten vortex, Norwegian sea, Vertical velocity

ID: 62795553