Modeling Low-Latititude Western Boundary Currents and the
Indonesian Throughflow using POM
B. Bang, T. Jensen, T. Miyama, H. Mitsudera and T. Qu
International Pacific Research Center
University of Hawaii
Frontier Research System for Global Change
Tokyo, Japan
POM has been set up and applied for a study of oceanic processes
associated with low-latitude western boundary currents (LLWBC) in
the Pacific Ocean and in the Indonesian Throughflow (ITF) region.
The model uses a telescoping variable grid. The highest resolution
is 1/3 deg in a subdomain covering the ITF region and decreases
gradually to 1.2 deg over 20 deg wide transition zones. The model
domain is the Pacific and Indian Ocean north of 60S. Details of the
model configuration will be discussed. Using monthly Hellerman-
Rosenstein wind stress, reduced in magnitude to 70%, and a monthly
NCEP re-analysis climatology of heat flux and net precipitation,
a 30 year simulation was done. The model results show most of the
observed flows, including the northward shift of the NEC bifurcation
latitude with depth, a preferred transport of surface water through
the Lombok Strait, with an annual cycle in phase with the observations.
The annual mean ITF transport in the model is 17 Sv.