Researchers at the Center for Ocean - Atmospheric Prediction Studies (COAPS) are exploring the physical environment of the Gulf of Mexico using a high-resolution numerical model. The numerical simulation is an application of the Navy Coastal Ocean Model (NCOM) developed at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory. The NCOM is a parallelized three-dimensional primitive equation ocean model that has been optimized for running on the IBM supercomputers at FSU. The model solves for the three-dimensional velocity field, temperature, salinity, and free surface height of the ocean.
The Gulf of Mexico simulation has a horizontal resolution of approximately 5 km with 60 vertical layers (using a hybrid z-coordinate in the deep ocean and a terrain-following, or sigma, coordinate in the top 100 m). The domain extends to the coastline, with a minimum ocean depth of 4 meters. The model employs a quasi-third-order upwind advection scheme for momentum and scalar fields, which permits improved simulation of fronts in the ocean.
The Gulf of Mexico simulation is forced by winds, heat flux, evaporation and precipitation, fresh water inflow from 30 rivers, and flow through the open boundary in the Caribbean Sea. Different experiments can be performed by changing various forcing functions, numerical parameters, or the domain configuration. For example, high-resolution high frequency wind fields derived from satellite scatterometer data are used to study the ocean's response to the hurricanes of 1999 and 2000.
The NCOM simulations serve as a virtual laboratory for studying the physics of the ocean circulation within the Gulf of Mexico. Projects include studies of the Loop Current and its eddies within the deep ocean, the circulation on the continental shelves near the coast, the interaction of eddies with the waters of the continental shelves, and the effects of river discharge on the ocean environment. Additionally, the model is being used for studies to advance our understanding of numerical methods, ocean prediction systems, and air-sea interaction.
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Moving Vector Movies Climatology Forcing Approx. 90MB Surface Salinity Surface Temperature Surface Elevation
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Sep-Oct 2000 With QuikSCAT/Eta Winds Approx. 15MB WFS Surface Elevation
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Lagrangian-Eulerian Time Surfaces During Loop Current Eddy Separation Visualization by Josh Grant Approx. 19MB 800m Vertical Displacement |
Movies require a player, such as quicktime.
Dr. Steven Morey, Assistant Scholar/Scientist
Dr. Mark Bourassa, Assistant Professor of Meteorology
Dr. Dmitry Dukhovskoy, Postdoctoral Research Associate
Peng Yu, Oceanography Graduate Student
Dr. Erik Kvaleberg, Johns Hopkins University
Dr. Jorge Zavala, UNAM, Mexico
Yu, P., S.L. Morey, and J. Zavala-Hidalgo, New mapping method to observe propagating features, Sea Technology, 45(5), 20-24, 2004.
Kvaleberg, E., S.L. Morey, and J.J. O'Brien, Formation of cold core filaments and eddies through baroclinic instability on a continental shelf, J. Phys. Ocean., In review, 2004.
Morey, S.L., P.J. Martin, , J.J. O'Brien, A. A. Wallcraft, and J. Zavala-Hidalgo, Export pathways for river discharged fresh water in the northern Gulf of Mexico, J. Geophys. Res., 108(C10), 3303, doi: 10.1029/2002JC001674, 2003.
Morey, S.L., W.W. Schroeder, J.J. O'Brien, and J. Zavala-Hidalgo, The annual cycle of riverine influence in the eastern Gulf of Mexico basin, Geophys. Res. Let., 30(16), 1867, doi:10.1029/2003GL017348, 2003.
Zavala-Hidalgo, J., S.L. Morey, and J.J. O'Brien, Seasonal circulation on the western shelf of the Gulf of Mexico using a high-resolution numerical model, J. Geophys. Res., 108(C12), 3389, doi:10.1029/2003JC001879, 2003.
Zavala-Hidalgo, J., S.L. Morey, and J.J. O'Brien, Cyclonic eddies northeast of the Campeche Bank from altimetry data, J. Phys. Ocean., 33 ,623-629, 2003.
Morey, S.L., and J.J. O'Brien, The spring transition from horizontal to vertical thermal stratification on a mid-latitude continental shelf, J. Geophys. Res., 107(C8), 3097, doi: 10.1029/2001JC000826, 2002.
Zavala-Hidalgo, J., A. Pares-Sierra, and J. Ochoa, Seasonal variability of the temperature and heat fluxes in the Gulf of Mexico, Atmosfera, 15, 81-104, 2002.
Kvaleberg, E., S.L. Morey, and J.J. O'Brien, The influence of Coriolis on instability wavelengths, Research Activities in Atmospheric and Ocean Modeling, CAS/JSC Working Group on Numerical Experimentation, 2004.
Yu, P., S.L. Morey, and J.J. O'Brien, Development of a reduced space adjoint data assimilation technique for numerical simulation of oceanic circulation, Research Activities in Atmospheric and Ocean Modeling, CAS/JSC Working Group on Numerical Experimentation, 2004.
Morey, S.L., J. Zavala-Hidalgo, and J.J. O'Brien, Impacts of vertical resolution on a numerical model of the Gulf of Mexico, Oceans 2003 Extended Abstract, 2003.
Zavala-Hidalgo, J., M.A. Bourassa, S.L. Morey, J.J. O'Brien, and P. Yu, A new temporal interpolation method for high-frequency vector wind fields, Oceans 2003 Extended Abstract, 2003.
Kvaleberg, E., S.L. Morey, and J.J. O'Brien, Frontogenesis and subsequent formation of cold filaments and eddies on an idealized shelf, Oceans 2003 Extended Abstract, 2003.
Zavala-Hidalgo, J., P. Yu, S.L. Morey, M.A. Bourassa, and J.J. O'Brien, A new interpolation method for high frequency forcing fields, Research Activities in Atmospheric and Ocean Modeling, CAS/JSC Working Group on Numerical Experimentation, 2003.
Kvaleberg, E., S.L. Morey, and J.J. O'Brien, Modeling frontal instabilities in the Gulf of Mexico, Research Activities in Atmospheric and Ocean Modeling, CAS/JSC Working Group on Numerical Experimentation, 2003.
Yu, P., J. Zavala-Hidalgo, and J.J. O'Brien, A new gridding method for satellite altimeter data, Research Activities in Atmospheric and Ocean Modeling, CAS/JSC Working Group on Numerical Experimentation, 2003.
Morey, S.L., M.A. Bourassa, X. Jia, J.J. O'Brien, and J. Zavala-Hidalgo, Impacts of satellite scatterometer - derived wind forcing on the West Florida Shelf ocean circulation, Research Activities in Atmospheric and Ocean Modeling, CAS/JSC Working Group on Numerical Experimentation, 2002.
Zavala-Hidalgo, J., S.L. Morey, and J.J. O'Brien, A numerical study of the circulation on the western shelf of the Gulf of Mexico, Research Activities in Atmospheric and Ocean Modeling, CAS/JSC Working Group on Numerical Experimentation, 2002.
Morey, S.L., J. Zavala-Hidalgo, and J.J. O'Brien, High-resolution ocean modeling of the Gulf of Mexico, Research Activities in Atmospheric and Ocean Modeling, CAS/JSC Working Group on Numerical Experimentation, 2001.