The oceans are very energetic on spatial scales of 10 to 100 km, yet these motions are not resolved in the current generation of global climate models. A major unsolved problem in oceanography is to determine the effects of these unresolved mesoscale ocean eddies on the large scale circulation and climate. Shown here are snapshots from two models being used at GFDL to examine this problem. Above: Idealized simulation of mesoscale ocean eddies using a numerical model; the red and green colors depict areas of warmer and cooler ocean temperatures. [Source: Vitaly Larichev and Isaac Held, Journal of Physical Oceanography, 1995.] Below: GFDL eddy-resolving ocean model. In this figure, eddy structures in the Gulf Stream are evident in the temperature field at a depth of 55 meters in the North Atlantic Ocean. The model has horizontal resolution of up to 1/6° by 1/6° and 60 vertical levels.

Sophisticated, high resolution models, such as the GFDL "SKYHI" general circulation model, are needed to simulate the complex nature of three-dimensional air motions and their important impact on atmospheric chemistry. Shown in the figure is a representation of stratospheric air parcels being stripped away from the relatively isolated vortex surrounding the winter pole. Air parcels coming from the vortex typically appear as ribbon-like streamers which are eventually mixed into mid-latitude air. The results shown are based on the concentration of nitrous oxide, a useful tracer of such air motions, taken from a mid-January day in a simulation with the "SKYHI" model. The main vase-like sheath shows the outline of the polar vortex. The region shown extends from about 14 km to about 42 km above the earth's surface. An understanding of the mixing of air between the polar vortex and lower latitudes is important for predicting the impact of expected polar ozone losses on ozone concentrations elsewhere on the globe. [Source: Kevin Hamilton, et al., Canadian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society Bulletin, August 1994.]