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A one-dimensional modeling study of the diurnal cycle in the equatorial Atlantic at the PIRATA buoys during the EGEE-3 campaign

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Abstract

A one-dimensional model is used to analyze, at the local scale, the response of the equatorial Atlantic Ocean under different meteorological conditions. The study was performed at the location of three moored buoys of the Pilot Research Moored Array in the Tropical Atlantic located at 10° W, 0° N; 10° W, 6° S; and 10° W, 10° S. During the EGEE-3 (Etude de la circulation océanique et de sa variabilité dans le Golfe de Guinee) campaign of May–June 2006, each buoy was visited for maintenance during 2 days. On board the ship, high-resolution atmospheric parameters were collected, as were profiles of temperature, salinity, and current. These data are used here to initialize, force, and validate a one-dimensional model in order to study the diurnal oceanic mixed-layer variability. It is shown that the diurnal variability of the sea surface temperatures is mainly driven by the solar heat flux. The diurnal response of the near-surface temperatures to daytime heating and nighttime cooling has an amplitude of a few tenths of degree. The computed diurnal heat budget experiences a net warming tendency of 31 and 27 W m−2 at 0° N and 10° S, respectively, and a cooling tendency of 122 W m−2 at 6° S. Both observed and simulated mixed-layer depths experience a jump between the nighttime convection phase and the well-stabilized diurnal water column. Its amplitude changes dramatically depending on the meteorological conditions occurring at the stations and reaches its maximum amplitude (~50 m) at 10° S. At 6° and 10° S, the presence of barrier layers is observed, a feature that is clearer at 10° S. Simulated turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) dissipation rates, compared to independent microstructure measurements, show that the model tracks their diurnal evolution reasonably well. It is also shown that the shear and buoyancy productions and the vertical diffusion of TKE all contribute to the supply of TKE, but the buoyancy production is the main source of TKE during the period of the simulation.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the AMMA project. Based on a French initiative, AMMA was built by an international scientific group and is currently funded by a large number of agencies, including those in France, the UK, the US, and Africa. It has been the beneficiary of a major financial contribution from the European Community’s Sixth Framework Research Program. Detailed information on scientific coordination and funding is available on the AMMA International web site http://www.amma-international.org. We thank Bernard Bourlès, the chief scientist of the EGEE program, and all the persons who acquired and prepared the data used in this study as well as the Captain of the R/V L’Atalante and his crew for their help during the EGEE-3 cruise.We warmly thank Dr. Gregory Foltz and an anonymous reviewer for their pertinent and useful comments and remarks.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre National de Recherches Météorologiques, 42 Av. Gustave Coriolis, 31057, Toulouse Cedex, France

    Malick Wade, Guy Caniaux & Hervé Giordani

  2. IRD, LEGOS, 14 avenue Edouard Belin, 31400, Toulouse, France

    Malick Wade & Yves duPenhoat

  3. LPAOSF, Dakar, Senegal

    Malick Wade

  4. Université de Toulouse, UPS/OMP, 31400, Toulouse, France

    Yves duPenhoat

  5. IFM-GEOMAR, Kiel, Germany

    Marcus Dengler & Rebecca Hummels

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  1. Malick Wade
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  2. Guy Caniaux
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  5. Hervé Giordani
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Correspondence to Malick Wade.

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Wade, M., Caniaux, G., duPenhoat, Y. et al. A one-dimensional modeling study of the diurnal cycle in the equatorial Atlantic at the PIRATA buoys during the EGEE-3 campaign. Ocean Dynamics 61, 1–20 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10236-010-0337-8

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