AN APPLICATION OF THE CAPACITANCE MATRIX-METHOD TO ACCOMMODATE MASKEDLAND AREAS AND ISLAND CIRCULATIONS IN A PRIMITIVE EQUATION OCEAN MODEL

The capacitance matrix method has been implemented in a primitive equa tion ocean model to accommodate islands and portions of irregular coas tal boundaries that cannot be treated adequately by boundary-fitted or thogonal curvilinear co-ordinates. The algorithm preserves the ability to solve the streamfunction equation using fast and accurate elliptic solvers that require a rectangular computational domain. By superposi tion of a set of island Green functions, the solution is adjusted to e nsure continuity of pressure around each island. The implementation is tested by comparison with an analytic solution for wind-driven flow i n a closed basin similar to the southwest Pacific Ocean.