Test and evaluation of asimple parameterization to enhance air-sea coupling in a global coupled model

Abstract

A simple temperature-dependent wind stress scheme is implemented in National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) Community Earth System Model (CESM), aiming to enhance positive wind stress and sea surface temperature (SST) correlation in SST-frontal regions. A series of three-year coupled experiments are conducted to determine a proper coupling coefficient for the scheme based on the agreement of surface wind stress and SST at oceanic mesoscale between model simulations and observations. Afterwards, 80-year simulations with/without the scheme are conducted to explore its effects on simulated ocean states and variability. The results show that the new scheme indeed improves the positive correlation between SST and wind stress magnitude near the large oceanic fronts. With more realistic surface heat flux and wind stress, the global SST biases are reduced. The global ocean circulation represented by barotropic stream function exhibits a weakened gyre circulation close to the western boundary separation, in agreement with previous studies. The simulation of equatorial Pacific current system is improved as well. The overestimated El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) magnitude in original CESM is reduced by ~30% after using the new scheme with an improved period.