Evaluation of a global eddy-permitting hybrid coordinate ocean model

Abstract

A historical run (1993–2014) of a global, eddy-permitting, hybrid coordinate ocean model (HYCOM) is evaluated against observations. The authors evaluate several metrics in the model, including the spatial distribution of sea surface temperature (SST), the zonally averaged seasonal cycle of SST, the variability of the sea level anomaly (SLA), the zonally and meridionally averaged temperature and salinity, and the equatorial undercurrent. It is found that the simulated seasonal cycle of SST is 0.2–0.8 stronger than observed at midlatitudes. The modeled SST is 0.29°C warmer than the observed for the global ocean. the structure of the subsurface temperature and salinity is similar to the observed. moreover, the variability of SLA exhibits the same pattern as observed. The modeled equatorial undercurrent in the pacific ocean is weaker than observed, but stronger than the ecco reanalysis product. overall, the model can reproduce the large-scale ocean states, and is suitable for analyses seeking to better understand the dynamics and thermodynamics of the upper ocean, as well as ocean variability.

Keywords

• Eddy-permitting
• hybrid coordinate ocean model
• sea surface temperature
• sea level anomaly
• temperature and salinity