A coupled numerical model to investigate the air–sea interaction at the coastal upwelling area of Cabo Frio, Brazil

Abstract

This work investigates the capability of an oceanic numerical model dynamic and thermodynamically coupled to a three-dimensional mesoscale atmospheric numerical model to simulate the basic features of the air-sea interaction in the coastal upwelling area of Cabo Frio (RJ, Brazil). The upwelling/downwelling regime is an important feature in the oceanic circulation of Cabo Frio and determines the sustainability of local ecosystems. This regime is predominantly driven by the atmospheric circulation and is well documented, being suitable to be used as test reference for atmospheric and oceanic coupled and uncoupled models. The oceanic boundary conditions, coastline shape and coupling effect have been tested. The uncoupled oceanic model forced by a NE (SW) wind field generates a realistic upwelling (downwelling) phenomenon regardless of the proximity of the lateral boundary and how realistic is the shape of the coastline. The atmospheric-oceanic coupled model generates an upwelling location and intensity similar to the uncoupled simulation, but the upwelling is gradually enhanced by the sea-breeze circulation. It also generates vertical profiles of mixing ratio that compare better to the observations than the uncoupled simulation and air potential temperature and wind vertical profiles that represent particular features of the atmospheric circulation at Cabo Frio.

Long‐Term Monitoring of the Brazil Current Transport at 22°S From XBT and Altimetry Data: Seasonal, Interannual, and Extreme Variability

“…Near Cabo Frio (~23°S, 42°W), the BC is characterized by intense meandering and occasional eddy shedding (da Silveira et al, ; Pilo et al, ), and these features of the BC dynamics have been associated to modulations in coastal upwelling (e.g., Calado et al, ; Campos et al, ). The Cabo Frio upwelling, which is stronger during the austral summer, creates a strong sea surface temperature (SST) front by bringing cold central waters to the surface, enhancing the local biological productivity (Gonzalez‐Rodriguez et al, ), decreasing the coastal sea level via Ekman divergence, and forcing the marine boundary layer and surface turbulent fluxes, with potential impact on the weather patterns in the Southeast South America (e.g., Chelton et al, ; Pezzi et al, ; Ribeiro et al, ). Evans and Signorini () described the BC near 23°S as a 400‐ to 500‐m‐deep surface boundary current with a southward volume transport offshore of the shelf break of approximately 6 Sv (1 Sv = 10 6 m 3 /s).…”

“…This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made. central waters to the surface, enhancing the local biological productivity (Gonzalez-Rodriguez et al, 1992), decreasing the coastal sea level via Ekman divergence, and forcing the marine boundary layer and surface turbulent fluxes, with potential impact on the weather patterns in the Southeast South America (e.g., Chelton et al, 2007;Pezzi et al, 2016;Ribeiro et al, 2011). Evans and Signorini (1985) described the BC near 23°S as a 400-to 500-m-deep surface boundary current with a southward volume transport offshore of the shelf break of approximately 6 Sv (1 Sv = 10 6 m 3 /s).…”

Citizen science as a tool for understanding the silent dispersion of toadfish Opsanus beta (Goode and Bean, 1880)

“…No fisher reported catches of O. beta south from Laguna or north from GB. Until now, the O. beta populations observed in these studies were located between two upwellings, with the northern limit in Cabo Frio (T°C < 18; 22°S; Ribeiro et al ., 2011) and southern in Cabo de Santa Marta Grande (T°C < 18; between 28°S and 29°S; Campos et al ., 2013). Perhaps the lower water temperature (<15°C) could be a barrier to the distribution and establishment of populations of O. beta , limiting its occurrence range between the latitudes 23° S and 28° S.…”

Regional earth system modeling: review and future directions

“…In addition, Seo, Miller, and Roads (2007) found that air-sea mesoscale interactions improved the simulation of frontal systems and associated precipitation patterns over the Eastern Pacific Sector, while different models have shown good performance in reproducing air-sea mesoscale interactions in coastal upwelling regions (Ribeiro, Soares, and de Oliveira 2011;Putrasahan, Miller, and Seo 2013;Li et al 2014aLi et al , 2014b.…”