The Agulhas system as a key region of the global oceanic circulation

The Agulhas system at the interface between the Indian and Atlantic Ocean is an important region in the global oceanic circulation with a recognized key role in global climate and climate change. It is dominated by high temporal and horizontal variability. This project aims to realistically simulate this complex current system and its effect on the interoceanic transport with the highest spatial resolution to date. Using a hierarchy of global ocean models with realistic and idealized atmospheric forcing, the effect of inter-ocean transport on the large-scale circulation in the Atlantic will be established. This includes the variability of the meridional overturning and heat transports. The core of the project is a high-resolution model of the Agulhas region that is nested in a global one at lower resolution. Both models are able to interact, which allows one to study the feedbacks from the high-resolution model on the large-scale circulation. This project is embedded in the European ocean modeling effort DRAKKAR.

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