Simulation of the mixed layer in the western equatorial Pacific warm pool

Abstract

The upper ocean in the western equatorial Pacific warm pool during TOGA-COARE IMET IOP was simulated using a one-dimensional turbulence closure ocean mixed-layer model, which considered recent observations, such as the remarkable enhancement of turbulent kinetic energy near the ocean surface. The shoaling/deepening of the mixed layer and warming/cooling subsurface water in the model were in reasonable agreement with the observations. There was a significant improvement in simulating the cooling trend of the sea surface temperature under a westerly wind burst with heavy rainfall over previous simulations using bulk mixed-layer models. By contrast, the simulated sea surface salinity (SSS) departed significantly from the observed SSS, especially during a westerly burst and the subsequent restratification period, which might be due to 3-D control processes, such as downwelling/upwelling or advection.