Previous Abstract | Back to Abstracts Page | Next Abstract
Nested simulations in the South Florida coastal seas with the HYCOM model
Villy Kourafalou, Ge Peng and Heesook Kang
University of Miami/RSMAS
(Abstract received 07/10/2007 for session X)
ABSTRACT
A Regional model for the South Florida (SoFLA) coastal Seas has been developed, based on the Hybrid Coordinate Ocean Model (HYCOM) code. The SoFLA-HYCOM model has been nested in the North Atlantic (NA)-HYCOM first directly and then as a double nest through the Gulf of Mexico (GoM)-HYCOM. A series of simulations have been undertaken for the 1999-2005 period employing different boundary conditions (from free-running and data assimilative outer model simulations) and different atmospheric forcing fields (Navy NOGAPS 1 degree resolution and COAMPS 27 km resolution). Mooring and cable transport data have been employed for model validation. The complex topography of the South Florida region (shallow areas, such as Florida Bay, the broad Southwest Florida Shelf, the narrow Florida Keys Shelf and the deep Straits of Florida) pose several challenges in the simulation of a broad range of coastal flows. Emphasis is given in the study of salinity changes due to air-sea and land-sea interaction, as dictated by seasonal and episodic changes in precipitation and in regional river runoff. Successful simulation of salinity changes is very important in this area that is undergoing major modifications in freshwater inputs through the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Project. Improvements in the interaction with the large scale Loop Current/Florida Current system are attempted through data assimilative boundary conditions. A higher resolution nested model around the Florida Keys (FKEYS-HYCOM) has been nested within SoFLA-HYCOM to better resolve topography and to help improve coastal flows in the Straits of Florida.
Previous Abstract | Back to Abstracts Page | Next Abstract
2007 LOM Workshop, Bergen, Norway, August 20-22, 2007