Coupling ROMS With CSIM In The Okhotsk Sea

Rebecca Zanzig, LuAnne Thompson, and Cecilia Bitz
University of Washington, USA


The Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS) and the sea ice component of the NCAR Community Climate System Model, CCSM Sea Ice Model (CSIM), have been coupled to create a regional ice-ocean model of the Okhotsk Sea. CSIM is a state-of-the-art dynamic-thermodynamic sea ice model. Together, these models can be used to investigate sea ice and water mass formation, as well as their interannual variablility in the Okhotsk. The Okhotsk is important because of its influence on the formation of North Pacific Intermediate Water (NPIW), which has its source in the dense water formed along the Okhotsk Sea shelves. Coastal polynyas and tidal mixing both significantly affect dense water formation. Preliminary results will be presented.