Impact of grid resolution on the abyssal ocean representation in numerical models

Santos, Daniel M. C.; Van Caspel, Mathias; Timmermann, Ralph; Sato, Olga T.

doi:10.5194/os-22-3079-2026

Articles | Volume 22, issue 5

https://doi.org/10.5194/os-22-3079-2026

© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

https://doi.org/10.5194/os-22-3079-2026

© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 22, issue 5

Research article

|

07 Oct 2026

Research article |

| 07 Oct 2026

Impact of grid resolution on the abyssal ocean representation in numerical models

Daniel M. C. Santos, Mathias Van Caspel, Ralph Timmermann, and Olga T. Sato

Supplement

https://doi.org/10.5194/os-22-3079-2026-supplement

Data sets

Vema section - FESOM outputs Daniel M. C. Santos et al. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19595306

TS diagram - FESOM outputs Daniel M. C. Santos et al. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19597204

CTD locations - FESOM outputs Daniel M. C. Santos et al. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19597367

Mooring locations - FESOM outputs Daniel M. C. Santos et al. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19597574

Abyssal properties - FESOM VH outputs Daniel M. C. Santos et al. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19597737

Abyssal properties - FESOM H outputs Daniel M. C. Santos et al. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19597860

Abyssal properties - FESOM V outputs Daniel M. C. Santos et al. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19597878

Abyssal properties - FESOM R outputs Daniel M. C. Santos et al. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19598232

Video supplement

Temporal evolution of abyssal potential density: a multi-model and multi-resolution assessment Daniel M. C. Santos et al. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19699061

Short summary

Numerical ocean models struggle to reproduce abyssal water properties and the northward spreading of cold, dense water from the Southern Ocean. We tested whether finer vertical or horizontal grid spacing improves performance. Adding more vertical layers near the seafloor improves how models represent cold abyssal water and inter-basin pathways. Finer horizontal spacing alone degrades abyssal properties. Combining both refinements better captures abyssal water mass structure in narrow passages.