  This paper puts forth a new large eddy simulation closure modeling strategy
for two-dimensional turbulent geophysical flows. This closure modeling approach
utilizes approximate deconvolution, which is based solely on mathematical
approximations and does not employ additional phenomenological arguments to the
model. The new approximate deconvolution model is tested in the numerical
simulation of the wind-driven circulation in a shallow ocean basin, a standard
prototype of more realistic ocean dynamics. The model employs the barotropic
vorticity equation driven by a symmetric double-gyre wind forcing, which yields
a four-gyre circulation in the time mean. The approximate deconvolution model
yields the correct four-gyre circulation structure predicted by a direct
numerical simulation, on a coarser mesh but at a fraction of the computational
cost. This first step in the numerical assessment of the new model shows that
approximate deconvolution could represent a viable tool for under-resolved
computations in the large eddy simulation of more realistic turbulent
geophysical flows.
