ocean surface temperatures and/or currents had on the circulation of air in the atmosphere.
Methodological innovations in the last 15 years--combined with theoretical realizations about the importance of the oceans (especially the deep oceans) in regulating both the temperature and the carbon content of the atmosphere (see Section 5.2.2)--have driven the creation of more sophisticated oceanic models fusing these perspectives. Contemporary general ocean circulation models are at least as sophisticated as general atmospheric circulation models--and often more sophisticated. The presence of very significant constant vertical circulation in the oceans (in the form of currents like the thermohaline discussed in 5.2.2) means that there is a strong circulation between the layers (though not as strong as the vertical circulation in the atmosphere). Moreover, the staggering diversity and quantity of marine life--as well as the impact that they have on the dynamics of both the ocean and atmosphere--adds a wrinkle to oceanic modeling that has no real analog in atmospheric modeling.
Just as in Richardson’s forecast factory, global circulation models (both in the atmosphere and the ocean) are implemented on a grid (usually one that’s constructed on top of the latitude/longitude framework). This grid is constructed in three dimensions, and is divided into cells in which the actual equations of motion are applied. The size of the cells is constrained by a few factors, most significantly the computational resources available and the desired length of the time-step when the model is running. The first condition is fairly intuitive: smaller grids require both more computation (because the computer is forced to simulate the dynamics at a larger number of points) and more precise data in order to generate reliable predictions (there’s no use in computing the behavior of grid cells that are one meter to a side if we can only
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