Arango Hernan G.

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Arango
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Hernan G.
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  • Article
    Interannual variability of the surface summertime eastward jet in the South China Sea
    (John Wiley & Sons, 2014-10-27) Li, Yuanlong ; Han, Weiqing ; Wilkin, John L. ; Zhang, Weifeng G. ; Arango, Hernan G. ; Zavala-Garay, Javier ; Levin, Julia C. ; Castruccio, Frederic S.
    The summertime eastward jet (SEJ) located around 12°N, 110°E–113°E, as the offshore extension of the Vietnam coastal current, is an important feature of the South China Sea (SCS) surface circulation in boreal summer. Analysis of satellite-derived sea level and sea surface wind data during 1992–2012 reveals pronounced interannual variations in its surface strength (SSEJ) and latitudinal position (YSEJ). In most of these years, the JAS (July, August, and September)-mean SSEJ fluctuates between 0.17 and 0.55 m s−1, while YSEJ shifts between 10.7°N and 14.3°N. These variations of the SEJ are predominantly contributed from the geostrophic current component that is linked to a meridional dipole pattern of sea level variations. This sea level dipole pattern is primarily induced by local wind changes within the SCS associated with the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO). Enhanced (weakened) southwest monsoon at the developing (decaying) stage of an El Niño event causes a stronger (weaker) SEJ located south (north) of its mean position. Remote wind forcing from the tropical Pacific can also affect the sea level in the SCS via energy transmission through the Philippine archipelago, but its effect on the SEJ is small. The impact of the oceanic internal variability, such as eddy-current interaction, is assessed using an ocean general circulation model (OGCM). Such impact can lead to considerable year-to-year changes of sea level and the SEJ, equivalent to ∼20% of the observed variation. This implies the complexity and prediction difficulty of the upper ocean circulation in this region.
  • Article
    A wetting and drying scheme for ROMS
    (Elsevier B.V., 2013-05-24) Warner, John C. ; Defne, Zafer ; Haas, Kevin A. ; Arango, Hernan G.
    The processes of wetting and drying have many important physical and biological impacts on shallow water systems. Inundation and dewatering effects on coastal mud flats and beaches occur on various time scales ranging from storm surge, periodic rise and fall of the tide, to infragravity wave motions. To correctly simulate these physical processes with a numerical model requires the capability of the computational cells to become inundated and dewatered. In this paper, we describe a method for wetting and drying based on an approach consistent with a cell-face blocking algorithm. The method allows water to always flow into any cell, but prevents outflow from a cell when the total depth in that cell is less than a user defined critical value. We describe the method, the implementation into the three-dimensional Regional Oceanographic Modeling System (ROMS), and exhibit the new capability under three scenarios: an analytical expression for shallow water flows, a dam break test case, and a realistic application to part of a wetland area along the Georgia Coast, USA.
  • Article
    Using a composite grid approach in a complex coastal domain to estimate estuarine residence time
    (Elsevier B.V., 2010-04-18) Warner, John C. ; Geyer, W. Rockwell ; Arango, Hernan G.
    We investigate the processes that influence residence time in a partially mixed estuary using a three-dimensional circulation model. The complex geometry of the study region is not optimal for a structured grid model and so we developed a new method of grid connectivity. This involves a novel approach that allows an unlimited number of individual grids to be combined in an efficient manner to produce a composite grid. We then implemented this new method into the numerical Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS) and developed a composite grid of the Hudson River estuary region to investigate the residence time of a passive tracer. Results show that the residence time is a strong function of the time of release (spring vs. neap tide), the along-channel location, and the initial vertical placement. During neap tides there is a maximum in residence time near the bottom of the estuary at the mid-salt intrusion length. During spring tides the residence time is primarily a function of along-channel location and does not exhibit a strong vertical variability. This model study of residence time illustrates the utility of the grid connectivity method for circulation and dispersion studies in regions of complex geometry.
  • Article
    Data assimilative modeling investigation of Gulf Stream Warm Core Ring interaction with continental shelf and slope circulation
    (John Wiley & Sons, 2014-09-12) Chen, Ke ; He, Ruoying ; Powell, Brian S. ; Gawarkiewicz, Glen G. ; Moore, Andrew M. ; Arango, Hernan G.
    A data assimilative ocean circulation model is used to hindcast the interaction between a large Gulf Stream Warm Core Ring (WCR) with the Mid-Atlantic Bight (MAB) shelf and slope circulation. Using the recently developed Incremental Strong constraint 4D Variational (I4D-Var) data assimilation algorithm, the model assimilates mapped satellite sea surface height (SSH), sea surface temperature (SST), in situ temperature, and salinity profiles measured by expendable bathythermograph, Argo floats, shipboard CTD casts, and glider transects. Model validations against independent hydrographic data show 60% and 57% error reductions in temperature and salinity, respectively. The WCR significantly changed MAB continental slope and shelf circulation. The mean cross-shelf transport induced by the WCR is estimated to be 0.28 Sv offshore, balancing the mean along-shelf transport by the shelfbreak jet. Large heat/salt fluxes with peak values of 8900 W m−2/4 × 10−4 kg m−2 s−1 are found when the WCR was impinging upon the shelfbreak. Vorticity analysis reveals the nonlinear advection term, as well as the residual of joint effect of baroclinicity and bottom relief (JEBAR) and advection of potential vorticity (APV) play important roles in controlling the variability of the eddy vorticity.
  • Preprint
    Towards an integrated observation and modeling system in the New York Bight using variational methods. Part I : 4DVAR data assimilation
    ( 2009-09-23) Zhang, Weifeng G. ; Wilkin, John L. ; Arango, Hernan G.
    Four-dimensional Variational data assimilation (4DVAR) in the Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS) is used to produce a best-estimate analysis of ocean circulation in the New York Bight during spring 2006 by assimilating observations collected by a variety of instruments during an intensive field program. An incremental approach is applied in an overlapped cycling system with 3-day data assimilation window to adjust model initial conditions. The model-observation mismatch for all observed variables is reduced substantially. Comparisons between model forecast and independent observations show improved forecast skill for about 15 days for temperature and salinity, and 2 to 3 days for velocity. Tests assimilating only certain subsets of the data indicate that assimilating satellite sea surface temperature improves the forecast of surface and subsurface temperature but worsens the salinity forecast. Assimilating in situ temperature and salinity from gliders improves the salinity forecast but has little effect on temperature. Assimilating HF-radar surface current data improves the velocity forecast by 1-2 days yet worsens the forecast of subsurface temperature. During some time periods the convergence for velocity is poor as a result of the data assimilation system being unable to reduce errors in the applied winds because surface forcing is not among the control variables. This study demonstrates the capability of 4DVAR data assimilation system to reduce model-observation mismatch and improve forecasts in the coastal ocean, and highlights the value of accurate meteorological forcing.