Verification experiments with an isopycnal coordinate ocean model

The approximate conservation of density along trajectories in the upper thermocline, indicated by the observed distribution of water mass properties, suggests that isopycnal coordinates would provide a more economical framework than conventional Eulerian coordinates. An approximate analytic solution for a wind-driven circulation in a reduced gravity model is used as a prototype for testing a numerical model based on isopycnal coordinates. The numerical solutions are successful in reproducing the outcropping pattern of the analytic solutions. The application of the flux-corrected transport algorithm significantly reduces implied diffusivity relative to a first-order donor cell scheme.