(Description of Seminar 8)
Oct. 13, 1997
On last wednesday, Dr. Piacsek gave us a lecture about A Study of Ocean Currents in Strategic Straits Using High-Resolution Parallel Ocean Models. Dr. Piacsek is expert on ocean modeling, who is work at Stennis Space Center.
Dr. Piacsek first explains what is strategic straits. Oceanic straits generally exert a disproportionately great influence on circulation when one considers their small size and volume. The three well-known straits chosen for the simulation are the Strait of Gibraltar (separating the Atlantic from the Mediterranean), the Strait of Otranto (separating the Adriatic Sea from the rest of the Mediterranean), and the Fram Strait (separating the Arctic Basin from the Greenland Sea).
He presents two possible flow reversals: Horrisontal flow reversals and vertical flow reversals. The discussion concerning the dynamics focuses on the nature of the flow reversals, on the entering and exiting water masses passing at the same depth, or below each other. In some straits, multiple reversals are possible. The discussion concerning numerics focuses on the fourth-order accuracy of the various terms (e.g. pressure gradients, advection, divergence, etc.)
Finally, he showes a movie of the dynamic ocean flow.