Dorman
Clive E.
Dorman
Clive E.
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ArticleWhat determines the spatial pattern in summer upwelling trends on the U.S. West Coast?(American Geophysical Union, 2012-08-09) Seo, Hyodae ; Brink, Kenneth H. ; Dorman, Clive E. ; Koracin, Darko ; Edwards, Christopher A.Analysis of sea surface temperature (SST) from coastal buoys suggests that the summertime over-shelf water temperature off the U.S. West Coast has been declining during the past 30 years at an average rate of −0.19°C decade−1. This cooling trend manifests itself more strongly off south-central California than off Oregon and northern California. The variability and trend in the upwelling north of off San Francisco are positively correlated with those of the equatorward wind, indicating a role of offshore Ekman transport in the north. In contrast, Ekman pumping associated with wind stress curls better explains the stronger and statistically more significant cooling trend in the south. While the coast-wide variability and trend in SST are strongly correlated with those of large-scale modes of climate variability, they in general fail to explain the southward intensification of the trend in SST and wind stress curl. This result suggests that the local wind stress curl, often topographically forced, may have played a role in the upwelling trend pattern.
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ArticleWinter marine atmospheric conditions over the Japan Sea(American Geophysical Union, 2004-12-08) Dorman, Clive E. ; Beardsley, Robert C. ; Dashko, N. A. ; Friehe, C. A. ; Kheilf, D. ; Cho, K. ; Limeburner, Richard ; Varlamov, S. M.Four basic types of synoptic-scale conditions describe the atmospheric structure and variability observed over the Japan Sea during the 1999/2000 winter season: (1) flow of cold Asian air from the northwest, (2) an outbreak of very cold Siberian air from the north and northeast, (3) passage of a weak cyclone over the southern Japan Sea with a cold air outbreak on the backside of the low, and (4) passage of a moderate cyclone along the northwestern side of the Japan Sea. In winter, the Russian coastal mountains and a surface-air temperature inversion typically block cold surface continental air from the Japan Sea. Instead, the adiabatic warming of coastal mountain lee-side air results in small air-sea temperature differences. Occasional outbreaks of very cold Siberian air eliminate the continental surface-based inversion and stability, allowing very cold air to push out over the Japan Sea for 1–3 days. During these outbreaks, the 0°C surface air isotherm extends well southward of 40°N, the surface heat losses in the center of the Japan Sea can exceed 600 W m−2, and sheet clouds cover most of the Japan Sea, with individual roll clouds extending from near the Russian coast to Honshu. During December through February, 1991–2002, these strong cold-air outbreak conditions occur 39% of the time and contribute 43% of the net heat loss from the Japan Sea. The average number of strong cold-air events per winter (November–March) season is 13 (ranging from 5 to 19); the 1999/2000 winter season covered in our measurements was normal.
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ArticleBora event variability and the role of air-sea feedback(American Geophysical Union, 2007-02-13) Pullen, Julie ; Doyle, James D. ; Haack, Tracy ; Dorman, Clive E. ; Signell, Richard P. ; Lee, Craig M.A two-way interacting high resolution numerical simulation of the Adriatic Sea using the Navy Coastal Ocean Model (NCOM) and Coupled Ocean/Atmosphere Mesoscale Prediction System (COAMPS®) was conducted to improve forecast momentum and heat flux fields, and to evaluate surface flux field differences for two consecutive bora events during February 2003. (COAMPS® is a registered trademark of the Naval Research Laboratory.) The strength, mean positions and extensions of the bora jets, and the atmospheric conditions driving them varied considerably between the two events. Bora 1 had 62% stronger heat flux and 51% larger momentum flux than bora 2. The latter displayed much greater diurnal variability characterized by inertial oscillations and the early morning strengthening of a west Adriatic barrier jet, beneath which a stronger west Adriatic ocean current developed. Elsewhere, surface ocean current differences between the two events were directly related to differences in wind stress curl generated by the position and strength of the individual bora jets. The mean heat flux bias was reduced by 72%, and heat flux RMSE reduced by 30% on average at four instrumented over-water sites in the two-way coupled simulation relative to the uncoupled control. Largest reductions in wind stress were found in the bora jets, while the biggest reductions in heat flux were found along the north and west coasts of the Adriatic. In bora 2, SST gradients impacted the wind stress curl along the north and west coasts, and in bora 1 wind stress curl was sensitive to the Istrian front position and strength. The two-way coupled simulation produced diminished surface current speeds of ∼12% over the northern Adriatic during both bora compared with a one-way coupled simulation.