This study examines the role of oceans in climate change via numerical modeling. The approach has three components: 1) use existing large-scale 3-dimensional ocean models to explore their sensitivity to sub-grid scale representations, 2) use limited area idealized process models to refine the sub-grid scale representations, 3) use theoretical results from geophysical fluid dynamics to structure the investigation. The project will address the cross-density mixing, effects of bottom topography, and the lateral fluxes of heat, momentum, vorticity, and chemical constituents. Application of the results will be important for climate impact studies, and for biogeochemistry.
