Impact of high resolution wind fields on coastal ocean models

The development of a coastal ocean circulation model involves many challenges, including the interaction of complex coastline and topography and the prediction of mesoscale oceanographic features. The Innovative Coastal-Ocean Observing Network (ICON) developed a Monterey Bay ocean circulation model to resolve these challenges. This study examines two different ICON model cases. The first ICON model case was forced with the 100 km NOGAPS winds while the other was forced with the 9 km COAMPS winds. The comparison demonstrated that the 9 km COAMPS-forced case produced better resolution of the ocean mesoscale. This was shown through examination of the daily sea surface temperature fields and the daily surface ocean currents. Time series of sea surface temperature showed a strong seasonal cycle. After removal of the seasonal cycle, the existence of mesoscale features was even more dramatic. A case study at Pt. Sur showed the evolution of mesoscale features associated with an upwelling event.
http://archive.org/details/impactofhighreso109451839
US Navy (USN) author