Subproject L4: Energy-Consistent Ocean-Atmosphere Coupling

In this project, we will investigate the role of upper-ocean resolved and parameterized submesoscale dynamics like baroclinic and symmetric instabilities for the ocean-atmosphere energy (heat and momentum) exchange. We will concentrate 1) on diagnosing submesoscale heat and energy fluxes in a new high-resolution simulation of the ICON ocean model (see Fig 1.) and 2) on applying different  parameterizations for submesoscale dynamics with regard to the energy exchange between ocean and atmosphere in coarser-resolved coupled simulations.

The role of the PhD candidate will be to first investigate the high-resolution simulations. This is in particular challenging due to the large amount of data but also due to the physical processes at hand. We therefore expect the PhD candidate to develop a solid basis of geophysical fluid dynamics but also strong skills of analyzing big data
sets. Second, the PhD candidate will perform coupled ocean-atmosphere simulations with ICON using different parameterizations for submesoscale dynamics. Here, the PhD candidate needs to familiarize with performing
coupled simulations but also with diagnosing the effect and potential feedbacks which might be caused or modified by the parameterized submesoscale dynamics.

Fig. 1: Vorticity of the ICON SubMesoscale Telescope simulation. In this global simulation, the horizontal grid spacing is decreased from around 11km around Australia up to 530m in a wide focus area in the North Atlantic. In this focus area, submesoscale dynamics can be resolved. The main figure shows the flow over the entire North Atlantic and two close-ups indicated by the black and red rectangles are presented in the two panels on the right. The simulation features a strong activity of submesoscale dynamics and yields a good opportunity to study its effect on air-sea coupling.

The underlying project is part of the Collaborative Research Centre TRR181 which gives the PhD candidate good opportunities to establish a wide research network. Furthermore, the PhD candidate will collaborate with the developers of the ICON model and other scientists from the Max-Planck-Institute and University of Hamburg. Therefore, we expect the PhD candidate to become an active member in this rich research environment. In addition, the PhD candidate will become a member of TRR181's research training group ENERGY where dedicated training courses and mentoring programs are offered to support the PhD student with the research project and the career development.