[PAOCQ] Carl Wunsch (MIT)

“Determining the shape and topography of the oceans: Useful inverse problems”

Much physical oceanographic attention has been devoted to determining appropriate boundary conditions for theory and numerical models: slip, no-slip, hyper-slip, open, periodic…. But almost no attention has been devoted to the problems of the position of the boundaries—-the shape of the ocean container. Errors in that shape (sidewalls, bottom topography) can lead to gross inaccuracies when combining increasingly sophisticated observations and numerical models. The extent to which models/data should be in agreement carries implications for model testing, data quality control, and prediction skill. Recent literature suggests that only about 15% of the ocean topography has been adequately mapped by ships, which still produce the most accurate container shapes. Models also fail to resolve much of the structure which is already known. Exploring the implications of oceanic circulation observations, which can be more accurate than the estimated topography, produces a whole series of inverse problems, of both practical and mathematical interest. These problems are of leading order in most paleoceanographic analyses.

PAOC Colloquium —

Interdisciplinary seminar series that brings together the whole PAOC (Program in Atmospheres, Oceans, and Climate) community. Seminar topics include all research concerning the physics, chemistry, and biology of the atmospheres, oceans and climate, as well as talks about societal impacts of climatic processes.

Contact: paoc-colloquium-comm@mit.edu