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Ocean Sci., 8, 885-901, 2012
www.ocean-sci.net/8/885/2012/ doi:10.5194/os-8-885-2012 © Author(s) 2012. This work is distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. |
Towards high resolution mapping of 3-D mesoscale dynamics from observations
1Istituto di Scienze dell'Atmosfera e del Clima, Roma, Italy
2Istituto per l'Ambiente Marino Costiero, Napoli, Italy
3CLS-Space Oceanography Division, Ramonville Saint-Agne, France
4IMEDEA(CSIC-UIB), Esporles, Spain
5Mercator Océan, Ramonville Saint-Agne, France
Abstract. The MyOcean R&D project MESCLA (MEsoSCaLe dynamical Analysis through combined model, satellite and in situ data) was devoted to the high resolution 3-D retrieval of tracer and velocity fields in the oceans, based on the combination of in situ and satellite observations and quasi-geostrophic dynamical models. The retrieval techniques were also tested and compared with the output of a primitive equation model, with particular attention to the accuracy of the vertical velocity field as estimated through the Q vector formulation of the omega equation. The project focused on a test case, covering the region where the Gulf Stream separates from the US East Coast. This work demonstrated that innovative methods for the high resolution mapping of 3-D mesoscale dynamics from observations can be used to build the next generations of operational observation-based products.
Citation: Buongiorno Nardelli, B., Guinehut, S., Pascual, A., Drillet, Y., Ruiz, S., and Mulet, S.: Towards high resolution mapping of 3-D mesoscale dynamics from observations, Ocean Sci., 8, 885-901, doi:10.5194/os-8-885-2012, 2012.