By incorporating the wave-induced Coriolis-Stokes forcing into the classical Ekman model, the wind energy input to the Ekman-Stokes layer is investigated, with an emphasis on the surface wave effects when the direction of Stokes drift deviates from that of wind stress. Theoretical analysis of the kinetic energy balance of the EkmanStokes layer shows that the total wind energy input consists of ...

A stand-alone sea ice model is tuned and validated using satellite-derived, basinwide observations of sea ice thickness, extent, and velocity from the years 1993 to 2001. This is the first time that basin-scale measurements of sea ice thickness have been used for this purpose. The model is based on the CICE sea ice model code developed at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, with some minor modi...

We present a “nudged” version of the Met Office general circulation model, the Unified Model. We constrain this global climate model using ERA-40 re-analysis data with the aim of reproducing the observed “weather” over a year from September 1999. Quantitative assessments are made of its performance, focusing on dynamical aspects of nudging and demonstrating that the “weather” is well simulated.

In this article global estimates of 100-yr return values of wind speed and significant wave height are presented. These estimates are based on the ECMWF 40-yr Re-Analysis (ERA-40) data and are linearly corrected using estimates based on buoy data. This correction is supported by global Topographic Ocean Experiment (TOPEX) altimeter data estimates. The calculation of return values is based on th...

A new tropopause definition involving a flow-dependent blending of the traditional thermal tropopause with one based on potential vorticity has been developed and applied to the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) reanalyses (ERA), ERA-40 and ERA-Interim. Global and regional trends in tropopause characteristics for annual and solsticial seasonal means are presented here, ...

The homogeneity of the ECMWF 40-yr Re-Analysis (ERA-40) is assessed. This is done by comparing ERA40 data with results from the NCEP–NCAR reanalysis and also by investigating a known relationship between a modeled (latent heat flux) and an external (SST) quantity. The direct comparison between the two reanalyses reveals a lot of inhomogeneities. They occur mainly in the Southern Hemisphere and ...

Data mining is a valuable tool in meteorological applications. Properly selected data mining techniques enable researchers to process and analyze massive amounts of data collected by satellites and other instruments. Large spatial-temporal datasets can be analyzed using different linear and nonlinear methods. The Self-Organizing Map (SOM) is a promising tool for clustering and visualizing high ...

This work deals with the hypothesis that synoptically-driven heavy rains in the Mediterranean region are connected with the occurrence of synoptic-dynamic anomalies. We investigate this hypothesis by conducting a diagnostic study of a cyclogenesis event from 18–21 July 2001. Cyclogenesis started over the western Mediterranean Sea and was triggered by the approach of a pre-existing upper trough ...

[1] A global comparison of altimeter and ERA-40 mean wave period data is performed for the first time. Altimeter and ERA-40 mean wave period are shown to compare well in non-swell-dominated conditions. Triply collocated altimeter, buoy, and ERA-40 data show that the variance of the random errors is bigger for the ERA-40 data and smaller for the buoy data. A new expression is given to relate alt...