Principal Investigator Paola Rizzoli
Project Website http://web.mit.edu/mit-whoi/www/research/po/atlantic_general_circulation.html
A major project sponsored by NASA and NOAA under the CLIVAR (CLImate VARiability) Program is focused on modeling the Atlantic Ocean general circulation with primitive equation models (OGCM's) in fully realistic configurations (bathymetry, surface forcings, coastlines, etc.) with emphasis on studying:
(1) Behavior of the energetic Gulf Stream system (2) Tropical Atlantic variability and the subtropical/tropical interactions responsible for the ventilation of the equatorial thermocline
An essential component of these simulations is the assimilation of different types of data, from TOPEX altimetry to in situ data, to constrain the models' behavior to be as realistic as possible.