Editorial

Jump to: Research

3 pages, 185 KiB

Open AccessEditorial

Ocean Modelling in Support of Operational Ocean and Coastal Services

by Marcos G. Sotillo

J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2022, 10(10), 1482; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse10101482 - 12 Oct 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 826

Abstract

Operational oceanography is maturing rapidly [...] Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ocean Modelling in Support of Operational Ocean and Coastal Services)

Research

Jump to: Editorial

22 pages, 7227 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Framework for Improving Land Boundary Conditions in Ocean Regional Products

by Francisco Campuzano, Flávio Santos, Lucian Simionesei, Ana R. Oliveira, Estrella Olmedo, Antonio Turiel, Rodrigo Fernandes, David Brito, Marco Alba, Antonio Novellino and Ramiro Neves

J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2022, 10(7), 852; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse10070852 - 22 Jun 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1395

Abstract

The coupling of coastal or regional ocean models to hydrological models or observed data is currently an uncommon practice in operational oceanography. Though hydrological models are regarded as a powerful and useful tool for estimating the quantity and quality of freshwater running in [...] Read more.

The coupling of coastal or regional ocean models to hydrological models or observed data is currently an uncommon practice in operational oceanography. Though hydrological models are regarded as a powerful and useful tool for estimating the quantity and quality of freshwater running in a watershed, they fail to provide accurate results for river flow reaching the coastal area due to water-management activities occurring within the river catchment, activities such as human consumption, irrigation, storage, etc. For this reason, many coastal and regional ocean models continue to impose surface zero-salinity discharges as land boundary conditions for representing such a dynamic boundary. Moreover, river flows are based in climatologies, thus neglecting seasonal and interannual variability. To achieve those objectives, this study proposes an integrated methodology ranging from watershed models to validation in the coastal area and passing through methods and proxies for integrating the freshwater flows into regional ocean models. The main objective of this study is to explore the results obtained by using more sophisticated land boundary conditions based on the capacities of state-of-the-art hydrologic models combined with observation networks. In addition to the evaluation of the source of river-flow data, this work also explores the use of estuarine proxies based on simple modelling grids. The estuarine proxies enable the incorporation of the mixing processes that take place in estuaries into the land fluxes and obtain the plume momentum. The watershed, estuarine proxies, and ocean were modelled using the MOHID Water modelling system and evaluated in western Iberia waters. The modelling results served to illustrate the sea surface salinity extension of the Western Iberia Buoyant Plume (WIBP) during an extreme event in March 2018. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ocean Modelling in Support of Operational Ocean and Coastal Services)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

23 pages, 5083 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Impacts of an Altimetric Wave Data Assimilation Scheme and Currents-Wave Coupling in an Operational Wave System: The New Copernicus Marine IBI Wave Forecast Service

by Cristina Toledano, Malek Ghantous, Pablo Lorente, Alice Dalphinet, Lotfi Aouf and Marcos G. Sotillo

J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2022, 10(4), 457; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse10040457 - 24 Mar 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1854

Abstract

The Copernicus Marine IBI-MFC (Iberia–Biscay–Ireland Monitoring and Forecasting Centre) has delivered operational wave forecasts since 2017. The operational application is based on a MFWAM model (Meteo-France WAve Model) set-up, running at a 1/20º grid (5-km). The research presented here was conducted to improve [...] Read more.

The Copernicus Marine IBI-MFC (Iberia–Biscay–Ireland Monitoring and Forecasting Centre) has delivered operational wave forecasts since 2017. The operational application is based on a MFWAM model (Meteo-France WAve Model) set-up, running at a 1/20º grid (5-km). The research presented here was conducted to improve the accuracy of the IBI-MFC wave model products, by means of (i) including a new wave data assimilation scheme and (ii) developing a new coupled ocean-wave modelling framework. Evaluation of these set-up upgrades, in terms of improvements in IBI wave model system capabilities, is here presented. All the model sensitivity test runs, performed for the year 2018, are assessed over the whole IBI domain, using the available in-situ (from 49 mooring buoys) and independent satellite wave observation. The results show that the most relevant improvement is due to the data assimilation, while the impact of surface ocean currents, although less significant, also improves the wave model qualification over the IBI area. The demonstrated benefit, related to the herein proposed upgrades, supported the IBI-MFC decision to evolve its operational wave system, using (since the March 2020 Copernicus Marine Release) the resulting wave model set-up, with data assimilation and currents-wave coupling for operational purposes. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ocean Modelling in Support of Operational Ocean and Coastal Services)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

30 pages, 8207 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Improving Operational Ocean Models for the Spanish Port Authorities: Assessment of the SAMOA Coastal Forecasting Service Upgrades

by Manuel García-León, Marcos G. Sotillo, Marc Mestres, Manuel Espino and Enrique Álvarez Fanjul

J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2022, 10(2), 149; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse10020149 - 24 Jan 2022

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2539

Abstract

The Puertos del Estado SAMOA coastal and port ocean forecast service delivers operational ocean forecasts to the Spanish Port Authorities since 01/2017 (originally set-up for 9 ports). In its second development phase (2019–2021), the SAMOA service has been extended to 31 ports (practically, [...] Read more.

The Puertos del Estado SAMOA coastal and port ocean forecast service delivers operational ocean forecasts to the Spanish Port Authorities since 01/2017 (originally set-up for 9 ports). In its second development phase (2019–2021), the SAMOA service has been extended to 31 ports (practically, the whole Spanish Port System). Besides, the next generation of the SAMOA service is being developed. Research is being focused on (1) updating atmospheric forcing (by combining the AEMET HARMONIE 2.5 Km forecasts and the IFS-ECMWF ones), (2) upgrading the circulation model (ROMS), and (3) testing new methodologies to nest SAMOA systems in the Copernicus IBI-MFC regional solution (with emphasis on its 3D hourly dataset). Evaluation of specific model upgrades is here presented. Model sensitivity tests have been assessed using the available in-situ and remoted sensed (i.e., RadarHF) observations. The results show that SAMOA outperforms IBI-MFC in sea level forecasting at meso- and macro-tidal environments. Improvements by the herein proposed upgrades are incremental: some of these set-ups were used in the last SAMOA operational releases (i.e., the SAM_INI and the SAM_ADV ones; the later currently in operations), whereas the latest test (SAM_H3D) ensures more nesting consistency with the IBI-MFC and improves significantly surface currents and sea-surface temperature simulations. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ocean Modelling in Support of Operational Ocean and Coastal Services)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

19 pages, 8313 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

The Black Sea Physics Analysis and Forecasting System within the Framework of the Copernicus Marine Service

by Stefania A. Ciliberti, Eric Jansen, Giovanni Coppini, Elisaveta Peneva, Diana Azevedo, Salvatore Causio, Laura Stefanizzi, Sergio Creti’, Rita Lecci, Leonardo Lima, Mehmet Ilicak, Nadia Pinardi and Atanas Palazov

J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2022, 10(1), 48; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse10010048 - 02 Jan 2022

Cited by 11 | Viewed by 3385

Abstract

This work describes the design, implementation and validation of the Black Sea physics analysis and forecasting system, developed by the Black Sea Physics production unit within the Black Sea Monitoring and Forecasting Center as part of the Copernicus Marine Environment and Monitoring Service. [...] Read more.

This work describes the design, implementation and validation of the Black Sea physics analysis and forecasting system, developed by the Black Sea Physics production unit within the Black Sea Monitoring and Forecasting Center as part of the Copernicus Marine Environment and Monitoring Service. The system provides analyses and forecasts of the temperature, salinity, sea surface height, mixed layer depth and currents for the whole Black Sea basin, excluding the Azov Sea, and has been operational since 2016. The system is composed of the NEMO (v 3.4) numerical model and an OceanVar scheme, which brings together real time observations (in-situ temperature and salinity profiles, sea level anomaly and sea surface temperature satellite data). An operational quality assessment framework is used to evaluate the accuracy of the products which set the basic standards for the future upgrades, highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of the model and the observing system in the Black Sea. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ocean Modelling in Support of Operational Ocean and Coastal Services)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

21 pages, 10612 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Monitoring and Forecasting the Ocean State and Biogeochemical Processes in the Black Sea: Recent Developments in the Copernicus Marine Service

by Stefania A. Ciliberti, Marilaure Grégoire, Joanna Staneva, Atanas Palazov, Giovanni Coppini, Rita Lecci, Elisaveta Peneva, Marius Matreata, Veselka Marinova, Simona Masina, Nadia Pinardi, Eric Jansen, Leonardo Lima, Ali Aydoğdu, Sergio Creti’, Laura Stefanizzi, Diana Azevedo, Salvatore Causio, Luc Vandenbulcke, Arthur Capet, Catherine Meulders, Evgeny Ivanov, Arno Behrens, Marcel Ricker, Gerhard Gayer, Francesco Palermo, Mehmet Ilicak, Murat Gunduz, Nadezhda Valcheva and Paola Agostini Show full author list Hide full author list

J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2021, 9(10), 1146; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse9101146 - 18 Oct 2021

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2973

Abstract

The Black Sea Monitoring and Forecasting Center (BS-MFC) is the European reference service for the provision of ocean analyses, forecasts, and reanalyses in the Black Sea basin. It is part of the Copernicus Marine Environment and Monitoring Service (CMEMS) and ensures a high [...] Read more.

The Black Sea Monitoring and Forecasting Center (BS-MFC) is the European reference service for the provision of ocean analyses, forecasts, and reanalyses in the Black Sea basin. It is part of the Copernicus Marine Environment and Monitoring Service (CMEMS) and ensures a high level of efficiency in terms of operations, science, and technology for predictions and the monitoring of physical and biogeochemical processes in the Black Sea. The operational BS-MFC framework is based on state-of-the-art numerical models for hydrodynamics, biogeochemistry, and waves; analysis, forecast, and reanalysis are provided on a spatial grid with about 3 km of horizontal resolution that covers the whole Black Sea basin (the Azov Sea is not included). The scientific assessment of BS-MFC products is performed by implementing a product quality dashboard that provides pre-qualification and operational model skills according to GODAE/OceanPredict standards. Novel interfaces based on high-resolution models are part of the scientific development plan to ensure a strong connection with the nearest seas from a modelling point of view, in particular with the Mediterranean Sea. To improve forecasting skills, dedicated online coupled systems are being developed, which involve physics, biogeochemistry, and waves together with the atmosphere and, in the future, with ensemble forecasting methodologies and river-ocean interfaces. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ocean Modelling in Support of Operational Ocean and Coastal Services)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

25 pages, 11546 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Modelling Approach for the Assessment of Wave-Currents Interaction in the Black Sea

by Salvatore Causio, Stefania A. Ciliberti, Emanuela Clementi, Giovanni Coppini and Piero Lionello

J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2021, 9(8), 893; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse9080893 - 19 Aug 2021

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2688

Abstract

In this study, we investigate wave-currents interaction for the first time in the Black Sea, implementing a coupled numerical system based on the ocean circulation model NEMO v4.0 and the third-generation wave model WaveWatchIII v5.16. The scope is to evaluate how the waves [...] Read more.

In this study, we investigate wave-currents interaction for the first time in the Black Sea, implementing a coupled numerical system based on the ocean circulation model NEMO v4.0 and the third-generation wave model WaveWatchIII v5.16. The scope is to evaluate how the waves impact the surface ocean dynamics, through assessment of temperature, salinity and surface currents. We provide also some evidence on the way currents may impact on sea-state. The physical processes considered here are Stokes–Coriolis force, sea-state dependent momentum flux, wave-induced vertical mixing, Doppler shift effect, and stability parameter for computation of effective wind speed. The numerical system is implemented for the Black Sea basin (the Azov Sea is not included) at a horizontal resolution of about 3 km and at 31 vertical levels for the hydrodynamics. Wave spectrum has been discretised into 30 frequencies and 24 directional bins. Extensive validation was conducted using in-situ and satellite observations over a five-year period (2015–2019). The largest positive impact of wave-currents interaction is found during Winter while the smallest is in Summer. In the uppermost 200 m of the Black Sea, the average reductions of temperature and salinity error are about −3% and −6%, respectively. Regarding waves, the coupling enhanced the model skill, reducing the simulation error, about −2%. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ocean Modelling in Support of Operational Ocean and Coastal Services)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

15 pages, 5748 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Modeling of the Turkish Strait System Using a High Resolution Unstructured Grid Ocean Circulation Model

by Mehmet Ilicak, Ivan Federico, Ivano Barletta, Sabri Mutlu, Haldun Karan, Stefania Angela Ciliberti, Emanuela Clementi, Giovanni Coppini and Nadia Pinardi

J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2021, 9(7), 769; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse9070769 - 14 Jul 2021

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 3325

Abstract

The Turkish Strait System, which is the only connection between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, is a challenging region for ocean circulation models due to topographic constraints and water mass structure. We present a newly developed high resolution unstructured finite element [...] Read more.

The Turkish Strait System, which is the only connection between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, is a challenging region for ocean circulation models due to topographic constraints and water mass structure. We present a newly developed high resolution unstructured finite element grid model to simulate the Turkish Strait System using realistic atmospheric forcing and lateral open boundary conditions. We find that the jet flowing from the Bosphorus Strait into the Marmara creates an anticyclonic circulation. The eddy kinetic energy field is high around the jets exiting from the Bosphorus Strait, Dardanelles Strait, and also the leeward side of the islands in the Marmara Sea. The model successfully captures the two-layer structure of the Sea of Marmara. The volume transport at the Bosphorus is around 120 km

^{3}

/year which is consistent with the recent observations. The largest bias in the model is at the interface depth due to the shallower mixed layer. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ocean Modelling in Support of Operational Ocean and Coastal Services)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

16 pages, 5206 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Barotropic Solver for High-Resolution Ocean General Circulation Models

by Xiaodan Yang, Shan Zhou, Shengchang Zhou, Zhenya Song and Weiguo Liu

J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2021, 9(4), 421; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse9040421 - 14 Apr 2021

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1702

Abstract

High-resolution global ocean general circulation models (OGCMs) play a key role in accurate ocean forecasting. However, the models of the operational forecasting systems are still not in high resolution due to the subsequent high demand for large computation, as well as the low [...] Read more.

High-resolution global ocean general circulation models (OGCMs) play a key role in accurate ocean forecasting. However, the models of the operational forecasting systems are still not in high resolution due to the subsequent high demand for large computation, as well as the low parallel efficiency barrier. Good scalability is an important index of parallel efficiency and is still a challenge for OGCMs. We found that the communication cost in a barotropic solver, namely, the preconditioned conjugate gradient (PCG) method, is the key bottleneck for scalability due to the high frequency of the global reductions. In this work, we developed a new algorithm—a communication-avoiding Krylov subspace method with a PCG (CA-PCG)—to improve scalability and then applied it to the Nucleus for European Modelling of the Ocean (NEMO) as an example. For PCG, inner product operations with global communication were needed in every iteration, while for CA-PCG, inner product operations were only needed every eight iterations. Therefore, the global communication cost decreased from more than 94.5% of the total execution time with PCG to less than 63.4% with CA-PCG. As a result, the execution time of the barotropic modes decreased from more than 17,000 s with PCG to less than 6000 s with CA-PCG, and the total execution time decreased from more than 18,000 s with PCG to less than 6200 s with CA-PCG. Besides, the ratio of the speedup can also be increased from 3.7 to 4.6. In summary, the high process count scalability when using CA-PCG was effectively improved from that using the PCG method, providing a highly effective solution for accurate ocean simulation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ocean Modelling in Support of Operational Ocean and Coastal Services)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

35 pages, 5254 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

River Freshwater Contribution in Operational Ocean Models along the European Atlantic Façade: Impact of a New River Discharge Forcing Data on the CMEMS IBI Regional Model Solution

by Marcos G. Sotillo, Francisco Campuzano, Karen Guihou, Pablo Lorente, Estrella Olmedo, Ania Matulka, Flavio Santos, María Aránzazu Amo-Baladrón and Antonio Novellino

J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2021, 9(4), 401; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse9040401 - 09 Apr 2021

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2956

Abstract

River freshwater contribution in the European Atlantic margin and its influence on the sea salinity field are analyzed. The impacts of using a new river discharge database as part of the freshwater forcing in a regional ocean model are assessed. Ocean model scenarios, [...] Read more.

River freshwater contribution in the European Atlantic margin and its influence on the sea salinity field are analyzed. The impacts of using a new river discharge database as part of the freshwater forcing in a regional ocean model are assessed. Ocean model scenarios, based on the CMEMS (Copernicus Marine Environment Monitoring Service) operational IBI-MFC (Iberia Biscay Ireland Monitoring Forecasting Centre) model set-up, are run to test different (observed, modeled and climatological) river and coastal freshwater forcing configurations throughout 2018. The modelled salinity fields are validated, using as a reference all known available in-situ observational data sources. The IBI model application is proven to adequately simulate the regional salinity, and the scenarios showcase the effects of varying imposed river outflows. Some model improvement is achieved using the new forcing (i.e., better capture of salinity variability and more realistic simulation of baroclinic frontal structures linked to coastal and river freshwater buoyancy plumes). Major impacts are identified in areas with bigger river discharges (i.e., the French shelf or the northwestern Iberian coast). Instead, the Portuguese shelf or the Gulf of Cadiz are less impacted by changes in the imposed river inflows, and other dynamical factors in these areas play a major role in the configuration of the regional salinity. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ocean Modelling in Support of Operational Ocean and Coastal Services)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

27 pages, 7783 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Regional Operational Model for the North East Atlantic: Model Configuration and Validation

by Hazem Nagy, Kieran Lyons, Glenn Nolan, Marcel Cure and Tomasz Dabrowski

J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2020, 8(9), 673; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse8090673 - 01 Sep 2020

Cited by 21 | Viewed by 3998

Abstract

An operational model for an area of the northeast Atlantic that encompasses all of Ireland’s territorial waters has been developed. The model is an implementation of the Regional Ocean Modelling System (ROMS) and uses operationally available atmospheric and boundary forcing, and a global [...] Read more.

An operational model for an area of the northeast Atlantic that encompasses all of Ireland’s territorial waters has been developed. The model is an implementation of the Regional Ocean Modelling System (ROMS) and uses operationally available atmospheric and boundary forcing, and a global tide solution for tidal forcing. River forcing is provided by climatological daily discharge rates for 29 rivers across Ireland, west Britain, and west France. It is run in an operational framework to produce 7-day hindcasts once a week, and daily 3-day forecasts which are published in a number of formats. We evaluated the model skill by comparing with measured data and calculating statistics such as mean error, root mean square error (RMSE), and correlation coefficient. The observations consist of satellite Sea Surface Temperature (SST), total surface velocity fields from satellite, water level time series from around the Irish coast, and temperature and salinity data from Array for Real-Time Geostrophic Oceanography (ARGO) and Conductivity Temperature Depth (CTD) profiles. The validation period is from 1 January 2016 until 31 December 2019. The correlation coefficient between the model and satellite SST is 0.97 and recorded in March and April 2018. The model error is about 5% of the total M₂ amplitude in the Celtic Sea recorded at Dunmore East tide gauge station. The maximum RMSE between the model and the CTD temperature profiles is 0.8 °C while it is 0.17 PSU for salinity. The model correctly defines the shelf water masses around Ireland. In 2019 the Irish Coastal Current (ICC) was very strong and well defined along most of the western Irish coast. The model results have well reproduced the ICC front for the whole simulation period. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ocean Modelling in Support of Operational Ocean and Coastal Services)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

13 pages, 7505 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Denoising Effect of Jason-1 Altimeter Waveforms with Singular Spectrum Analysis: A Case Study of Modelling Mean Sea Surface Height over South China Sea

by Jiajia Yuan, Jinyun Guo, Yupeng Niu, Chengcheng Zhu, Zhen Li and Xin Liu

J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2020, 8(6), 426; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse8060426 - 10 Jun 2020

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 1991

Abstract

Altimeter waveforms are usually contaminated due to nonmarine surfaces or inhomogeneous sea state conditions. The present work aimed to present how the singular spectrum analysis (SSA) can be used to reduce the noise level in Jason-1 altimeter waveforms to obtain SSA-denoised waveforms, improving [...] Read more.

Altimeter waveforms are usually contaminated due to nonmarine surfaces or inhomogeneous sea state conditions. The present work aimed to present how the singular spectrum analysis (SSA) can be used to reduce the noise level in Jason-1 altimeter waveforms to obtain SSA-denoised waveforms, improving the accuracy of a mean sea surface height (MSSH) model. Comparing the retracked sea surface heights (SSHs) by a 50% threshold retracker for the SSA-denoised waveforms with those for the raw waveforms, the results indicated that SSA allowed a noise reduction on Jason-1 waveforms, improving the accuracy of retracked SSHs. The MSSH model (called Model 1) over the South China Sea with a grid of 2′ × 2′ was established from the retracked SSHs of Jason-1 by the 50% threshold retracker for the SSA-denoised waveforms. Comparing Model 1 and Model 2 (established from the retracked SSHs by the 50% threshold retracker for the raw waveforms) with the CLS15 and DTU18 models in the South China Sea, it was found that the accuracy of Model 1 was higher than that of Model 2, which indicates that using SSA to reduce noise level in Jason-1 waveforms can effectively improve the accuracy of the MSSH model. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ocean Modelling in Support of Operational Ocean and Coastal Services)

► Show Figures

Graphical abstract

Journal Menu

Journal Browser

Ocean Modelling in Support of Operational Ocean and Coastal Services

Share This Special Issue

Special Issue Editor

Special Issue Information

Keywords

Published Papers (12 papers)

Editorial

Research

Further Information

Guidelines

MDPI Initiatives

Follow MDPI