--- MITgcm_contrib/articles/ceaice/ceaice_intro.tex 2008/07/28 07:36:38 1.8 +++ MITgcm_contrib/articles/ceaice/ceaice_intro.tex 2008/08/14 16:12:41 1.9 @@ -1,66 +1,45 @@ \section{Introduction} \label{sec:intro} -In recent years, ocean state estimation has matured to the extent that -estimates of the time-evolving ocean circulation, constrained by a multitude -of in-situ and remotely sensed global observations, are now routinely -available and being applied to myriad scientific problems \citep[and -references therein]{wun07}. As formulated by the consortium for Estimating -the Circulation and Climate of the Ocean (ECCO), least-squares methods, i.e., -filter/smoother \citep{fuk02}, Green's functions \citep{men05}, and adjoint -\citep{sta02a}, are used to fit the Massachusetts Institute of Technology -general circulation model -\citep[MITgcm;][]{marshall97:_finit_volum_incom_navier_stokes} to the -available data. Much has been achieved but the existing ECCO estimates lack -interactive sea ice. This limits the ability to utilize satellite data +Ocean state estimation has matured to the extent that estimates of the +time-evolving ocean circulation, constrained by a multitude of in-situ and +remotely sensed global observations, are now routinely available and being +applied to myriad scientific problems \citep[and references therein]{wun07}. +As formulated by the consortium for Estimating the Circulation and Climate of +the Ocean (ECCO), least-squares methods are used to fit the Massachusetts +Institute of Technology general circulation model \citep[MITgcm;][]{mar97a} to +the available data. Much has been achieved but the existing ECCO estimates +lack interactive sea ice. This limits the ability to utilize satellite data constraints over sea-ice covered regions. This also limits the usefulness of the derived ocean state estimates for describing and studying polar-subpolar -interactions. This paper is a first step towards adding sea-ice capability to -the ECCO estimates. That is, we describe a dynamic and thermodynamic sea ice +interactions. In this paper we describe a dynamic and thermodynamic sea ice model that has been coupled to the MITgcm and that has been modified to permit -efficient and accurate forward integration and automatic differentiation. - -Although the ECCO2 optimization problem can be expressed succinctly in -algebra, its numerical implementation for planetary scale problems is -enormously demanding. First, multiple forward integrations are required to -derive approximate filter/smoothers and to compute model Green's functions. -Second, the derivation of the adjoint model, even with the availability of -automatic differentiation tools, is a challenging technical task, which -requires reformulation of some of the model physics to insure -differentiability and the addition of numerous adjoint compiler directives to -improve efficiency \citep{marotzke99}. The MITgcm adjoint typically requires -5--10 times more computations and 10--100 times more storage than the forward -model. Third, every evaluation of the cost function entails a full forward -integration of the assimilation model and multiple forwards (and adjoint for -the adjoint method) iterations are required to achieve satisfactorily -converged solutions. Finally, evaluating the cost function also requires -estimating the error statistics associated with unresolved physics in the -model and with incompatibilities between observed quantities and numerical -model variables. These statistics are obtained from simulations at even -higher resolutions than the assimilation model. For all the above reasons, it -was decided early on that the MITgcm sea ice model would be tightly coupled -with the ocean component as opposed to loosely coupled via a flux coupler. - - - -Traditionally, probably for historical reasons and the ease of -treating the Coriolis term, most standard sea-ice models are -discretized on Arakawa-B-grids \citep[e.g.,][]{hibler79, harder99, - kreyscher00, zhang98, hunke97}, although there are sea ice models -diretized on a C-grid \citep[e.g.,][]{ip91, tremblay97, - lemieux09}. % -\ml{[there is also MI-IM, but I only found this as a reference: - \url{http://retro.met.no/english/r_and_d_activities/method/num_mod/MI-IM-Documentation.pdf}]} -From the perspective of coupling a sea ice-model to a C-grid ocean -model, the exchange of fluxes of heat and fresh-water pose no -difficulty for a B-grid sea-ice model \citep[e.g.,][]{timmermann02a}. -However, surface stress is defined at velocities points and thus needs -to be interpolated between a B-grid sea-ice model and a C-grid ocean -model. Smoothing implicitly associated with this interpolation may -mask grid scale noise and may contribute to stabilizing the solution. -On the other hand, by smoothing the stress signals are damped which -could lead to reduced variability of the system. By choosing a C-grid -for the sea-ice model, we circumvent this difficulty altogether and +efficient and accurate forward and adjoint integration. The forward model +borrows many components from current-generation sea ice models but these +components are reformulated on an Arakawa C grid in order to match the MITgcm +oceanic grid and they are modified in many ways to permit efficient and +accurate automatic differentiation. To illustrate how the use of the forward and +adjoint parts together can help give insight into discrete model dynamics, we +study the interaction between littoral regions in the Canadian Arctic +Archipelago and sea-ice model dynamics. + +Because early numerical ocean models were formulated on the Arakawa-B grid and +because of the easier treatment of the Coriolis term, most standard sea-ice +models are discretized on Arakawa-B grids \citep[e.g.,][]{hibler79, harder99, + kreyscher00, zhang98, hunke97}. As model resolution increases, more and +more ocean and sea ice models are being formulated on the Arakawa-C grid +\citep[e.g.,][]{mar97a,ip91,tremblay97,lemieux09}. +%\ml{[there is also MI-IM, but I only found this as a reference: +% \url{http://retro.met.no/english/r_and_d_activities/method/num_mod/MI-IM-Documentation.pdf}]} +From the perspective of coupling a sea ice-model to a C-grid ocean model, the +exchange of fluxes of heat and fresh-water pose no difficulty for a B-grid +sea-ice model \citep[e.g.,][]{timmermann02a}. However, surface stress is +defined at velocities points and thus needs to be interpolated between a +B-grid sea-ice model and a C-grid ocean model. Smoothing implicitly associated +with this interpolation may mask grid scale noise and may contribute to +stabilizing the solution. On the other hand, by smoothing the stress signals +are damped which could lead to reduced variability of the system. By choosing +a C-grid for the sea-ice model, we circumvent this difficulty altogether and render the stress coupling as consistent as the buoyancy coupling. A further advantage of the C-grid formulation is apparent in narrow