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Ann. Geophys., 21, 267-280, 2003
www.ann-geophys.net/21/267/2003/
© European Geosciences Union 2003
High-resolution nested model simulations of the climatological circulation in the southeastern Mediterranean Sea
S. Brenner
National Institute of Oceanography, Israel Oceanographic and Limnological Research, PO Box 8030, Haifa 31080, Israel
Abstract. As part of the
Mediterranean Forecasting System Pilot Project (MFSPP) we have implemented a
high-resolution (2 km horizontal grid, 30 sigma levels) version of the
Princeton Ocean Model for the southeastern corner of the Mediterranean Sea. The
domain extends 200 km offshore and includes the continental shelf and slope,
and part of the open sea. The model is nested in an intermediate resolution
(5.5 km grid) model that covers the entire Levantine, Ionian, and Aegean Sea.
The nesting is one way so that velocity, temperature, and salinity along the
boundaries are interpolated from the relevant intermediate model variables. An
integral constraint is applied so that the net mass flux across the open
boundaries is identical to the net flux in the intermediate model. The model is
integrated for three perpetual years with surface forcing specified from
monthly mean climatological wind stress and heat fluxes. The model is stable
and spins up within the first year to produce a repeating seasonal cycle
throughout the three-year integration period. While there is some internal
variability evident in the results, it is clear that, due to the relatively
small domain, the results are strongly influenced by the imposed lateral
boundary conditions. The results closely follow the simulation of the
intermediate model. The main improvement is in the simulation over the narrow
shelf region, which is not adequately resolved by the coarser grid model.
Comparisons with direct current measurements over the shelf and slope show
reasonable agreement despite the limitations of the climatological forcing. The
model correctly simulates the direction and the typical speeds of the flow over
the shelf and slope, but has difficulty properly re-producing the seasonal
cycle in the speed.
Key words. Oceanography: general
(continental shelf processes; numerical modelling; ocean prediction)
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