Advantage of using QUICKEST scheme for the approximation of the transport operator in the equations of motion in the ocean circulation model

This paper presents a study aimed at improving numerical models of the ocean dynamics. We evaluate the sensitivity of the regional ocean circulation model to the numerical schemes used to approximate the transport operator in the equations of motion; we investigate the influence of the numerical scheme on the flow field, reproduced by the numerical model. Numerical experiments involving two versions of the numerical circulation model were conducted for the basin, which includes the Arctic Ocean and the North Atlantic. A comparative analysis of the experimental results has shown that the rejection of a generally used central difference scheme for the equations of motion and the use of a scheme of higher order accuracy QUICKEST conduce to the reproduction of more intense currents responsible for the exchange of water between the oceans. Even in models with a coarse spatial resolution on the numerical grid, where nonlinear effects do not have a significant impact on the structure of model fields, there are differences between the obtained model fields. The use of more accurate schemes for approximation of the transport process in the equations of motion make possible to reduce the viscosity coefficients and to obtain a smoother flow pattern, whose intensity is increased.