Implementation of a barotropic-baroclinic time splitting for isopycnic coordinate ocean modeling (Q1282434)

The present paper addresses the practical implementation of a splitting of fast and slow dynamics for the case of isopycnic ocean modeling, in which the vertical coordinate is density or some other related quantity. During the implementation, a major task is to develop formulas suitable for usage with rapidly varying bottom topography. Compared to an earlier splitting, the present splitting has improved stability properties when analyzed in a simple linearized setting. When tested in the same model for which the earlier splitting was developed, the revised splitting substantially reduces a numerically induced sloshing pattern that is seen in the model. This phenomenon appears to be related to a residual term that appears in the momentum equations. In some examples, the residual is one to two orders of magnitude smaller in the case of the revised splitting. \(\copyright\) Academic Press.