The impact of long-term sea surface temperature (SST) change on the atmospheric circulation is studied by comparing atmospheric general circulation model (AGCM) simulations forced with a spatially uniform SST increase and a structured SST increase. The structured SST increase is calculated from the response of an ensemble of coupled ocean-atmosphere models to increased CO2. Most of the impact o...

This paper summarizes the ocean surface net energy flux simulated by fifteen atmospheric general circulation models constrained by realistically-varying sea surface temperatures and sea ice as part of the Atmospheric Model Intercomparison Project. In general, the simulated energy fluxes are within the very large observational uncertainties. However, the annual mean oceanic meridional heat trans...

General circulation models (GCMs) of the global atmosphere are a key tool for climate research. They represent atmospheric dynamics, physics, and chemistry with mathematical equations, which are then solved on a threedimensional grid that spans the globe. Computer capabilities currently limit the grid resolutions in the global GCMs that are used to simulate Earth’s climate and make warming pred...

—Uncertainties in the surface wind field have long been recognized as a major limitation in the interpretation of results obtained by oceanic circulation models. It is especially true in the tropical oceans, where the response to wind forcing is very strong on short time scales. The purpose of this paper is to show that these uncertainties can be greatly reduced by using spaceborne wind sensors...

[1] This paper examines the sensitivity of atmospheric pCO2 to changes in ocean biology that result in drawdown of nutrients at the ocean surface. We show that the global inventory of preformed nutrients is the key determinant of atmospheric pCO2 and the oceanic carbon storage due to the soft-tissue pump (OCSsoft). We develop a new theory showing that under conditions of perfect equilibrium bet...