ON EMBEDDING A MIXED LAYER MODEL INTO AN OCEAN GENERAL-CIRCULATION MODEL

A method is described for embedding a mixed layer model into an ocean general circulation model, in a manner consistent with the formulation of each model. The surface mixed layer is explicitly retained by choosing a vertical coordinate which follows the mixed layer base. This allows increased vertical resolution in the thermocline without the necessity of including redundant levels within the homogeneous surface layer. The model is tested by applying stationary, axisymmetric hurricane forcing to a fully three-dimensional version with coarse vertical resolution (six levels). © 1990.