Home Page for Ronald C. Pacanowski

(photograph)

Ronald C. Pacanowski
Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Route 1, Forrestal Campus
Princeton, NJ 08542
USA

email: Ronald.Pacanowski@noaa.gov
phone: 609-452-6527
FAX: 609-987-5063

Research Interests

I am a numerical oceanographer at GFDL where I've been involved in various aspects of ocean model development since 1971. During the 1980's and early 1990's my research focused on simulations of the upper tropical oceans including El Nino. From 1989 to 2001, I was responsible for the development of the Modular Ocean Model (MOM) project. After development of the MOM 4 core and its addition to GFDL's FMS (Flexible Modeling System) in Sept 2001, my interest shifted back to modelling of the earth's oceans.

My current work is in collaboration with George Philander's group at Princeton University where we are focused on the role of the ocean's thermocline in affecting climate on decadal, century, and paleo timescales. It may be that abrupt climate change can occur in other ways than shutting down the thermohaline circulation (THC). Using idealized models, we have found that a permanent El'Nino can be induced on relatively short timescales by altering surface forcing at high latitudes. Whether rapid climate change occurs due to a shutdown of the THC or a permanent El'Nino may be a matter of where the earth is in parameter space. We are exploring this parameter space.

GFDL Modular Ocean Model

  • For full details, visit the Modular Ocean Model web page

    • Papers in progress

  • M. Marreiro, R.C. Pacanowski, S.G.H. Philander, and A.V. Fedorov: The response of the Atlantic Ocean to a sudden high latitude freshening.

  • A.V. Fedorov, M. Marreiro, G. Boccaletti, R.C. Pacanowski and S.G.H. Philander: The Freshening of Surface Waters in High Latitudes: Effects on the Thermohaline and Wind-driven Circulations. J. Phys Oceanogr., In press.

    Published papers

  • A.V. Fedorov, A.C. Ravelo, P.S. Dekens, P.B. deMenocal, M. Barreiro, R.C. Pacanowski, S.G.H. Philander: The Pliocene Paradox (Mechanisms for a Permanent El Niņo). Science 312, 1485-1489 June 9, 2006.

  • M. Barreiro, G. Philander, R. Pacanowski and A. Fedorov: Simulations of warm tropical conditions with application to middle Pliocene atmospheres. Climate Dynamics, Vol 26, Number 4, 349-365 March 2006.

  • G. Boccaletti, R.C. Pacanowski and S.G.H. Philander: A diabatic mechanism for decadal variability in the tropics. Dynamics of Atmospheres and Oceans.
    Download.

  • G. Boccaletti, R.C. Pacanowski, S.G.H. Philander and A.V. Fedorov, 2004: The Thermal Structure of the Upper Ocean. Journal of Physical Oceanography, Vol 34, 888-902 2004.

  • Fedorov, A.V., R.C. Pacanowski, S.G. Philander and G. Boccaletti, 2004: The effect of salinity on the wind-driven circulation and the thermal structure of the upper ocean. Journal of Physical Oceanography, Vol 34, 1949-1966.
    Download.

  • Griffies, Pacanowski, Schmidt, and Balaji, 2001: Tracer Conservation with an Explicit Free Surface Method for Z-coordinate Ocean Models. Monthly Weather Review, vol 129, 1081-1098.

  • Griffies, Pacanowski, and Hallberg 2000: Spurious diapycnal mixing associated with advection in a z-coordinate ocean model, Monthly Weather Review, 128, 538-564.

  • Pacanowski and Gnanadesikan 1998: Transient response in a z-level ocean model that resolves topography with partial-cells. MWR, Vol 126, No 12, December 1998.

  • Griffies, Gnanadesikan, Pacanowski, Larichev, Dukowicz, Smith 1998: Isoneutral diffusion in a z-coordinate ocean model. Journal of Physical Oceanography, Vol 28, No 5, May 1998

  • Gnanadesikan, A., and R.C. Pacanowski, Improved Representation of Flow around Topography in the GFDL Modular Ocean Model MOM2, International WOCE Newsletter, (27):23-25, 1997.

  • Philander, S.G.H., D. Gu, D. Halpern, G. Lambert, N.-C. Lau, T. Li, R.C. Pacanowski, Why the ITCZ is Mostly North of the Equator, Journal of Climate, 9(12):2958-2972, 1996.

  • Wacongne, S., and R.C. Pacanowski, Seasonal Heat Transport in a Primitive Equations Model of the Tropical Indian Ocean, Journal of Physical Oceanography, 26(12):2666-2699, 1996.

  • Li, X., P. Chang, and R.C. Pacanowski, A Wave-Induced Mixing Mechanism in the Mid-depth Equatorial Ocean, Journal of Marine Research, 54:487-520, 1997.

  • Pinardi, N., A. Rosati, and R.C. Pacanowski, The Sea Surface Pressure Formulation of Rigid Lid Models. Implications for Altimetric Data Assimilation Studies, Journal of Marine Systems, 6:109-119, 1995

  • Philander, S.G.H., R.C. Pacanowski, N.-C. Lau, and M.J. Nath, A Simulation of ENSO with a Global Atmospheric GCM Coupled to a High- Resolution, Tropical Pacific Ocean GCM,Journal of Climate, 5(4):308-329, 1992.

  • Philander, S.G.H., N.-C. Lau, R.C. Pacanowski, and M.J. Nath, Two Different Simulations of the Southern Oscillation and El Nino with Coupled Ocean-Atmosphere General Circulation Models, Phil. Trans. Royal Society, London, A329:167-178, 1989.

  • Pacanowski, R.C., Effect of Equatorial Currents on Surface Stress, Journal of Physical Oceanography, 17(1):833-838, 1987.

  • Philander, S.G.H., W. Hurlin, and R.C. Pacanowski, Initial Conditions for a General Circulation Model of Tropical Oceans, Journal of Physical Oceanography, 17(1):147-157, 1987.

  • Philander, S.G.H., W.J. Hurlin, and R.C. Pacanowski, Properties of Long Equatorial Waves in Models of the Seasonal Cycle in the Tropical Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, Journal of Geophysical Research, 91(C12):14207-14211, 1986.

  • Philander, S.G.H., and R.C. Pacanowski, A Model of the Seasonal Cycle in the Tropical Atlantic Ocean, Journal of Geophysical Research, 91(C12):14192- 14206, 1986.

  • Philander, S.G.H., and R.C. Pacanowski, The Mass and Heat Budget in a Model of the Tropical Atlantic Ocean, Journal of Geophysical Research, 91(C12):14212-14220, 1986.

  • Philander, S.G.H., and R. Pacanowski, Simulation of the Seasonal Cycle in the Tropical Atlantic Ocean, Geophysical Research Letters, 11(8):802-804, 1984.

  • Philander, S.G.H., R. Pacanowski, and T. Yamagata, Unstable Air-Sea Interactions in the Tropics, Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences, 41(4):604- 613, 1982.

  • Pacanowski, R., and S.G.H. Philander, Parameterization of Vertical Mixing in Numerical Models of Tropical Oceans, Journal of Physical Oceanography, 11(11):1443-1451, 1981.

  • Philander, S.G.H., and R. Pacanowski, The Oceanic Response to Cross- Equatorial Winds - With Application to Coastal Upwelling in Low Latitudes, Tellus, 33(11):201-210, 1981.

  • Philander, S.G.H., and R. Pacanowski, Response of Equatorial Oceans to Periodic Forcing, Journal of Geophysical Research, 86(C3):1903-1916, 1981.

  • Philander, S.G.H., and R. Pacanowski, The Generation of Equatorial Currents, Journal of Geophysical Research, 85(C2):1123-1136, 1980.

  • Willebrand, J., S.G.H. Philander, and R. Pacanowski, The Oceanic Response to Large-Scale Atmospheric Disturbances, Journal of Physical Oceanography, 10(3):411-429, 1980.

  • Willebrand, G., S.G.H. Philander, and R. Pacanowski, Atmospheric Generation of Large-Scale Atmospheric Variability, Ocean Modeling, 1979.

  • Anderson, D., K. Bryan, A. Gill, and R. Pacanowski, The Transient Response of the North Atlantic, Some Model Studies, Journal of Geophysical Research, 1979.

  • Bryan, K., S. Manabe, and R. Pacanowski, A Global Ocean-Atmosphere Climate Model. Part II: The Oceanic Circulation, Journal of Physical Oceanography, V(1):30-46, 1975.