Research:
Kirk Bryan
Senior Research Scholar
Modeling of the oceanic general circulation;
Role of the oceans in the climate system
Research:
The World Ocean is one of the least understood elements in the climate system. My research is aimed at trying to understand the role of ocean circulation in the Earth's climate as we know it today, and its variations over the recent geological record. A qualitative understanding can be obtained only through a systematic comparison of data and a hierarchy of coupled models of increasing complexity. Much of my work is aimed towards a comparison of the atmosphere and the ocean, and their complimentary roles in the global heat and water balance. Recently I have been involved in collaborative studies with Los Alamos to develope models that are more general than those now available and which will provide an accurate representation of the effect of mesoscale eddies. Another focus of my work is to use coupled ocean-atmosphere models to determine climate predictability in middle and high latitude areas.
Recent Publications:
Bryan,K.,J.K. Dukowicz and R.D.Smith, A Note on the Mixing Coefficient in the Parameterization of Bolus Velocity. J. Phys. Oceanogr., 29,2442-2456,1999.
Park, Y.-G. and K. Bryan, Comparison of Thermally Driven Circulations from a Depth Coordinate Model and an Isopycnal Layer Model: Part I. A Scaling Law - Sensitivity to Vertical Diffusivity. J. Phys. Oceanogr., 30, 590-605, 2000.
Park, Y.-G. and K. Bryan, Comparison of Thermally Driven Circulations from a Depth Coordinate Model and an Isopycnal Layer Model: Part II. The Difference in Structure and Circulations. J. Phys. Oceanogr., 31, 2612-2624, 2001.
Cessi, P., K. Bryan, R. Zhang, Global seiching of thermocline waters between the Atlantic and the Indian-Pacific Ocean Basins. Geophysical Research Letters, Feb. 2004
Williams,G. and K.Bryan,Ice Age Winds: An Aquaplanet Model, J. of Climate, Vol. 19, No. 9, pages 1706-1715, 2006
Bryan, K.,2006:"Modeling Ocean Circulation : 1960-1990, The Weather Bureau and Princeton ", chapter in "Physical Oceanography: Developments since 1950", Jochum, M., and R. Murtugudde, eds., New York: Springer.
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Publications:
List of Publications
Address:
Email:
kbryan@splash.princeton.edu
RETURNLast Update: 8 May 2007