There is now increasing interest in off shore oil exploration along the edge of the European Continental Shelf, and in the interaction between shelf edge flows and the circulation of limited sea regions. Therefore there is a need for models which extend beyond the shelf edge and span both a part of the open ocean, the shelf edge and the shallow sea regions, which can be used to predict ocean currents and temperatures. Boundary conditions constrain limited area models of this type and will influence all parts of the shelf domain within a short period of time. Satellite data assimilated into larger domain open ocean models is probably the only way to provide better boundary conditions which will permit better and longer prediction of coastal and shelf flows.
The objective of this proposal is to apply this approach using the best available open ocean models, along with shelf sea models which are being tested for pre-operational use in several countries across the EU.
PRIMARY OBJECTIVE
To apply the techniques of ocean data assimilation to Earth Observation (EO) data and thereby to improve the ability to model and forecast currents and water properties in European coastal and shelf sea regions.
SECONDARY OBJECTIVES
To produce a temporally varying analysis from 1993-97 of ocean currents and water properties on a global scale using EO data, and to make these data accessible in an archive. To apply model nesting techniques to allow European coastal and shelf sea models to utilise the archived data sets as boundary conditions and thereby to improve prediction of coastal flows. To encourage the wider use of EO data by the shelf sea modelling community by transfering data assimilation techniques from the open ocean modelling community.
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