HYCOM Coastal Ocean Hindcasts and Predictions: Impact of Nesting in HYCOM GODAE Assimilative Hindcasts
Abstract
The overarching goal is to determine how simulations and forecasts of currents and water properties in the coastal ocean, and the scientific understanding obtained from them, are influenced by the initial and boundary conditions provided to nested coastal ocean models. In addition to surface atmospheric forcing and coastal freshwater runoff, the coastal ocean is influenced by offshore ocean variability resulting from processes ranging from basin-scale wind-driven gyre and thermohaline circulation down to regional and local circulation associated with boundary currents and eddies. To accurately represent the offshore ocean influence, the coastal model must be nested within fields that accurately represent (1) the initial state of the ocean throughout the model domain and (2) currents and water properties at the nested model boundaries during the model run. We specifically evaluate the HYCOM (HYbrid Coordinate Ocean Model) data assimilation products developed as part of the Global Ocean Data Assimilation Experiment (GODAE) for providing these fields. Coastal model evaluation is being performed over a range of environments to provide feedback that will guide improvements to the HYCOM-GODAE products. The overall regional focus encompasses the coastal northern and eastern Gulf of Mexico through the Florida Straits, which represent a broad range of shelf geometries, river runoff, seasonal atmospheric forcing, and offshore forcing. Three regions are emphasized: (1) the West Florida Shelf (WFS); (2) the South Florida Coastal Region (SoFLA), including the Florida Straits, the Florida Keys and Atlantic Keys shelf, Florida Bay, and the adjacent southwest Florida shelf; and (3) the coastal northern Gulf of Mexico (NGoM). This project focuses only on downscaling open-ocean variability to the coastal ocean (one way nesting).
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 2008
- Accession Number
- ADA496635
Entities
People
- Alexander Barth
- George R. Halliwell
- Harley E. Hurlburt
- James A. Cummings
- Lynn K. Shay
- Ole Martin Smedstad
- Patrick J. Hogan
- Robert H. Weisberg
- Villy Kourafalou
Organizations
- Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science