Numeircal Modeling Of The Indonesian Throughflow

The performance of the LICOM2.0in simulating the Indonesian Throughflow has been evaluated against the INSTANT data in the present study. The mean vertical structures of the along strait velocities are simulated very well in LICOM2.0. But the large velocities at the bottom of the Lifamatola Passage and the Timor Passage cannot be reproduced by LICOM2.0. The causes are considered to be both the errors in the topography and the tidal mixing at the bottom. Despite some biases in the mean velocities, the mean inflow and outflow volume transports in LICOM2.0are almost identical to the INSTANT data. Comparing with the lower resolution LICOM, the most significant improvement is the better simulation of the partitions of the inflow and outflow transports in individual straits. The outflow for low-resolution LICOM is mainly through the Ombai and Lombok Strait, while through the Timor Passage for LICOM2.0.The variability of the vertical structure of velocities and the volume transport are investigated too. LICOM2.0overestimates the magnitude of the upper layer currents, as well as the amplitude of the variation. We also found the largest correlation coefficient occurs in the shallowest strait, the Lombok, while the lowest in the Timor Passage, especially in the upper layer. The latter may be caused by the unrealistic transport through the Torres Strait in LICOM2.0.