USING THE ADJOINT METHOD WITH THE OCEAN COMPONENT OF COUPLED OCEAN-ATMOSPHERE MODELS

A Primitive Equation Ocean General Circulation Model (PE OGCM) in a gl obal configuration similar to that used in coupled ocean-atmosphere mo dels is fitted to climatological data using the adjoint method. The ul timate objective is the use of data assimilation for the improvement o f the ocean component of coupled models, and for the calculation of in itial conditions for initializing coupled model integrations. We argue that ocean models that are used for coupled climate studies are an es pecially appropriate target for data assimilation using the adjoint me thod.