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Next: 1.2.9 Simulations of laboratory Up: 1.2 Illustrations of the Previous: 1.2.7 Global state estimation   Contents

1.2.8 Ocean biogeochemical cycles

MITgcm is being used to study global biogeochemical cycles in the ocean. For example one can study the effects of interannual changes in meteorological forcing and upper ocean circulation on the fluxes of carbon dioxide and oxygen between the ocean and atmosphere. Figure 1.12 shows the annual air-sea flux of oxygen and its relation to density outcrops in the southern oceans from a single year of a global, interannually varying simulation. The simulation is run at $ 1^{\circ }\times 1^{\circ }$ resolution telescoping to $ \frac{1}{3}^{\circ}\times\frac{1}{3}^{\circ}$ in the tropics (not shown).

Figure 1.12: Annual air-sea flux of oxygen (shaded) plotted along with potential density outcrops of the surface of the southern ocean from a global $ 1^{\circ }\times 1^{\circ }$ integation with a telescoping grid (to $ \frac {1}{3}^{^\circ }$ ) at the equator.
\includegraphics[width=\textwidth,trim=30 0 0 0, clip]{s_overview/figs/polar.ps}


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