A New Mass Flux Correction Procedure for Vertically Integrated Energy Transport by Constraining Mass, Energy, and Water Budgets

Reconstruction of the atmospheric circulation from the numerical output of general circulation model (GCM) and reanalysis products often suffers from spurious values resulting in imbalances in the mass, energy, and water transport. A correction hence is needed prior to the analysis of energy transport. Most of the previous correction methods only employ a mass budget adjustment since it is the primary source of error. The present study proposes a new method of mass flux correction by constraining the mass, energy, and water budgets that can be applied to meridional energy transport and overturning circulation. The new method seeks a vertical dependent solution, unlike the conventional barotropic correction procedures. The procedure has been tested for one aquaplanet GCM and a reanalysis product. The method successfully corrects the spurious imbalances in the mean meridional energy transport and circulation.