NEMO on the shelf: assessment of the Iberia-Biscay-Ireland configuration.

Claire Maraldi (1) , J. Chanut (2) , Bruno Levier (2) , Nadia Ayoub (1) , Pierre de Mey (1) , G. Reffray (2) , Florent Lyard (1) , Sylvain Cailleau (2) , Marie Drévillon (2) , E. A. Fanjul (3) , M. G. Sotillo (3) , Patrick Marsaleix (4) , Mercator Team (2)

1 LEGOS - Laboratoire d'études en Géophysique et océanographie spatiales
2 Mercator Océan
3 Área de Medio Físico
4 LAERO - Laboratoire d'aérologie

This work describes the design and validation of a high-resolution (1/36°) ocean forecasting model over the "Iberian-Biscay-Irish" (IBI) area. The system has been set-up using the NEMO model (Nucleus for European Modelling of the Ocean). New developments have been incorporated in NEMO to make it suitable to open- as well as coastal-ocean modelling. In this paper, we pursue three main objectives: (1) to give an overview of the model configuration used for the simulations; (2) to give a broad-brush account of one particular aspect of this work, namely consistency verification; this type of validation is conducted upstream of the implementation of the system before it is used for production and routinely validated; it is meant to guide model development in identifying gross deficiencies in the modelling of several key physical processes; and (3) to show that such a regional modelling system has potential as a complement to patchy observations (an integrated approach) to give information on non-observed physical quantities and to provide links between observations by identifying broader-scale patterns and processes. We concentrate on the year 2008. We first provide domain-wide consistency verification results in terms of barotropic tides, transports, sea surface temperature and stratification. We then focus on two dynamical subregions: the Celtic shelves and the Bay of Biscay slope and deep regions. The model-data consistency is checked for variables and processes such as tidal currents, tidal fronts, internal tides and residual elevation. We also examine the representation in the model of a seasonal pattern of the Bay of Biscay circulation: the warm extension of the Iberian Poleward Current along the northern Spanish coast (Navidad event) in the winter of 2007-2008.

Domaines: Océanographie; Physique Atmosphérique et Océanique [physics.ao-ph]

Claire Maraldi, J. Chanut, Bruno Levier, Nadia Ayoub, Pierre de Mey, et al.. NEMO on the shelf: assessment of the Iberia-Biscay-Ireland configuration.. Ocean Science, 2013, 9, pp.745-771. ⟨10.5194/os-9-745-2013⟩. ⟨hal-00766544⟩