Simulation of Volume and Heat Transport along 26.5°N in the Atlantic

The observed meridional overtuming circula- tion （MOC） and meridional heat transport （MHT） estimated from the Rapid Climate Change/Meridional Circu- lation and Heat Flux Array （RAPID/MOCHA） at 26.5°N are used to evaluate the volume and heat transport in the eddy-resolving model LASG/IAP Climate system Ocean Model （LICOM）. The authors find that the Florida Cur- rent transport and upper mid-ocean transport of the model are underestimated against the observations. The simulated variability of MOC and MHT show a high correlation with the observations, exceeding 0.6. Both the simulated and observed MOC and MHT show a significant seasonal variability. According to the power spectrum analysis, LICOM can represent the mesoscale eddy characteristic of the MOC similar to the observation. The model shows a high correlation of 0.58 for the internal upper mid-ocean transport （MO） and a density difference between the western and eastern boundaries, as noted in previous studies.