An Oceanic General Circulation Model in Pressure Coordinates

A new oceanic general circulation model in pressure coordinates is formulated. Since the bottom pressure changes with time, the vertical coordinate is actually a pressure-σ coordinate. The numerical solution of the model is based on an energy-conservation scheme of finite difference. The most important new feature of the model is that it is a truly compressible ocean model and it is free of the Boussinesq approxima tions. Thus, the new model is quite different from many existing models in the following ways: 1) the exact form of mass conservation, 2) the in-situ instantaneous pressure and the UNESCO equation of state to calculate density, 3) the in-situ density in the momentum equations, 4) finite difference schemes that conserve the total energy. Initial tests showed that the model code runs smoothly, and it is quite stable. The quasi-steady circulation patterns generated by the new model compare well with existing models, but the time evolution of the new model seems different from some existing models. Thus, the non-Boussinesq models may provide more accurate information for climate study and satellite observations.