Baptiste Mourre

Assessing the impact of observations on ocean forecasts and reanalyses: Part 2, Regional applications

The value of global (e.g. altimetry, satellite sea-surface temperature, Argo) and regional (e.g. radars, gliders, instrumented mammals, airborne profiles and biogeochemical) observation-types for monitoring the mesoscale ocean circulation and biogeochemistry is demonstrated using a suite of global and regional prediction systems and remotely-sensed data. A range of techniques is used to demonstrate the value of different observation-types to regional systems and the benefit of high-resolution and adaptive sampling for monitoring the mesoscale circulation. The techniques include Observing System Experiments, Observing System Simulation Experiments, adjoint sensitivities, representer matrix spectrum, observation footprints and spectral analysis. It is shown that local errors in global and basin-scale systems can be significantly reduced when assimilating observations from regional observing systems.

Simulated SMOS Levels 2 and 3 Products: The Effect of Introducing ARGO Data in the Processing Chain and Its Impact on the Error Induced by the Vicinity of the Coast

The Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) Mission is the second of the European Space Agencys Living Planet Program Earth Explorer Opportunity Missions, and it is scheduled for launch in July 2009. Its objective is to provide global and frequent soil-moisture and sea-surface-salinity (SSS) maps. SMOS single payload is the Microwave Imaging Radiometer by Aperture Synthesis (MIRAS) sensor, an L-band 2-D aperture-synthesis interferometric radiometer. For the SSS, the output products of SMOS, at Level 3, will have global coverage and an accuracy of 0.1-0.4 psu (practical salinity units) over 100 times 100-200 times 200 km2 in 10-30 days. During the last few years, several studies have pointed out the necessity of combining auxiliary data with the MIRAS-measured brightness temperature to provide the required accuracy. In this paper, we propose and test two techniques to include auxiliary data in the SMOS SSS retrieval algorithm. Aiming at this, pseudo-SMOS Level-3 products have been generated according to the following steps: 1) A North Atlantic configuration of the NEMO-OPA ocean model has been run to provide consistent geophysical parameters; 2) the SMOS end-to-end processor simulator has been used to compute the brightness temperatures as measured by the MIRAS; 3) the SMOS Level-2 processor simulator has been applied to retrieve SSS values for each point and overpass; and 4) Level-2 data have been temporally and spatially averaged to synthesize Level-3 products. In order to assess the impact of the proximity to the coast at Level 3, and the effect of these techniques on it, two different zones have been simulated: the first one in open ocean and the second one in a coastal region, near the Canary Islands (Spain) where SMOS and Aquarius CAL/VAL activities are foreseen. Performance exhibits a clear improvement at Level 2 using the techniques proposed; at Level 3, a smaller effect has been recorded. Coastal proximity has been found to affect the retrieval of up to 150 and 300 km from the coast, at Levels 2 and 3, respectively. Results for both scenarios are presented and discussed.

Multiscale Observations of Deep Convection in the Northwestern Mediterranean Sea during Winter 2012–2013 Using Multiple Platforms

During winter 2012–2013, open‐ocean deep convection which is a major driver for the thermohaline circulation and ventilation of the ocean, occurred in the Gulf of Lions (Northwestern Mediterranean Sea) and has been thoroughly documented thanks in particular to the deployment of several gliders, Argo profiling floats, several dedicated ship cruises, and a mooring array during a period of about a year. Thanks to these intense observational efforts, we show that deep convection reached the bottom in winter early in February 2013 in a area of maximum 28u2009±u20093 109 m2. We present new quantitative results with estimates of heat and salt content at the subbasin scale at different time scales (on the seasonal scale to a 10 days basis) through optimal interpolation techniques, and robust estimates of the deep water formation rate of 2.0 ± 0.2 Sv. We provide an overview of the spatiotemporal coverage that has been reached throughout the seasons this year and we highlight some results based on data analysis and numerical modeling that are presented in this special issue. They concern key circulation features for the deep convection and the subsequent bloom such as Submesoscale Coherent Vortices (SCVs), the plumes, and symmetric instability at the edge of the deep convection area.

A comparison of the performance of the 3-D super-ensemble and an ensemble Kalman filter for short-range regional ocean prediction

This study compares the ability of two approaches integrating models and data to forecast the Ligurian Sea regional oceanographic conditions in the short-term range (0–72 hours) when constrained by a common observation dataset. The post-processing 3-D super-ensemble (3DSE) algorithm, which uses observations to optimally combine multi-model forecasts into a single prediction of the oceanic variable, is first considered. The 3DSE predictive skills are compared to those of the Regional Ocean Modeling System model in which observations are assimilated through a more conventional ensemble Kalman filter (EnKF) approach. Assimilated measurements include sea surface temperature maps, and temperature and salinity subsurface observations from a fleet of five underwater gliders. Retrospective analyses are carried out to produce daily predictions during the 11-d period of the REP10 sea trial experiment. The forecast skill evaluation based on a distributed multi-sensor validation dataset indicates an overall superior performance of the EnKF, both at the surface and at depth. While the 3DSE and EnKF perform comparably well in the area spanned by the incorporated measurements, the 3DSE accuracy is found to rapidly decrease outside this area. In particular, the univariate formulation of the method combined with the absence of regular surface salinity measurements produces large errors in the 3DSE salinity forecast. On the contrary, the EnKF leads to more homogeneous forecast errors over the modelling domain for both temperature and salinity. The EnKF is found to consistently improve the predictions with respect to the control solution without assimilation and to be positively skilled when compared to the climatological estimate. For typical regional oceanographic applications with scarce subsurface observations, the lack of physical spatial and multivariate error covariances applicable to the individual model weights in the 3DSE formulation constitutes a major limitation for the performance of this multi-model-data fusion approach compared to conventional advanced data assimilation strategies.

Review of the CALIMAS Team Contributions to European Space Agency’s Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity Mission Calibration and Validation

This work summarizes the activities carried out by the SMOS (Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity) Barcelona Expert Center (SMOS-BEC) team in conjunction with the CIALE/Universidad de Salamanca team, within the framework of the European Space Agency (ESA) CALIMAS project in preparation for the SMOS mission and during its first year of operation. Under these activities several studies were performed, ranging from Level 1 (calibration and image reconstruction) to Level 4 (land pixel disaggregation techniques, by means of data fusion with higher resolution data from optical/infrared sensors). Validation of SMOS salinity products by means of surface drifters developed ad-hoc, and soil moisture products over the REMEDHUS site (Zamora, Spain) are also presented. Results of other preparatory activities carried out to improve the performance of eventual SMOS follow-on missions are presented, including GNSS-R to infer the sea state correction needed for improved ocean salinity retrievals and land surface parameters. Results from CALIMAS show a satisfactory performance of the MIRAS instrument, the accuracy and efficiency of the algorithms implemented in the ground data processors, and explore the limits of spatial resolution of soil moisture products using data fusion, as well as the feasibility of GNSS-R techniques for sea state determination and soil moisture monitoring.

A Multiplatform Experiment to Unravel Meso- and Submesoscale Processes in an Intense Front (AlborEx)

The challenges associated with meso- and submesoscale variability (between 1-100 km) require high-resolution observations and integrated approaches. Here we describe a major oceanographic experiment designed to capture the intense but transient vertical motions associated with mesoscale and submesoscale features in an area characterized by strong fronts. Finescale processes were studied in the eastern Alboran Sea (Western Mediterranean) about 400 km east of the Strait of Gibraltar, a relatively sparsely sampled area. In-situ systems were coordinated with satellite data to provide a full description of the physical and biogeochemical variability. Hydrographic data confirmed the presence of an intense salinity front formed by the confluence of Atlantic Waters, entering from Gibraltar, with the local Mediterranean waters. The drifters coherently followed the northeastern limb of an anticyclonic gyre. Near real time data from acoustic current meter data profiler showed consistent patterns with currents of up to 1m/s in the southern part of the sampled domain. High-resolution glider data revealed submesoscale structures with tongues of chlorophyll-a and oxygen associated with the frontal zone. Numerical results show large vertical excursions of tracers that could explain the subducted tongues and filaments captured by ocean gliders. A unique aspect of AlborEx is the combination of high-resolution synoptic measurements of vessel-based measurements, autonomous sampling, remote sensing and modeling, enabling the evaluation of the underlying mechanisms responsible for the observed distributions and biogeochemical patchiness. The main findings point to the importance of fine-scale processes enhancing the vertical exchanges between the upper ocean and the ocean interior.

SOCIB operational ocean forecasting system and multi-platform validation in the Western Mediterranean Sea

ABSTRACT This paper describes the high-resolution Western Mediterranean Sea Operational Forecasting System (WMOP) developed at the Balearic Islands Coastal Observing and Forecasting System (SOCIB). The system runs on a daily basis driven by high-resolution atmospheric forcing, providing 3-day forecasts of physical oceanic variables with a 2 km horizontal resolution, thus representing the ocean variability from mesoscale to basin scale from the Gibraltar Strait to the Sardinia Channel. A systematic regional monitoring and validation system has been developed using multi-platform observations, allowing the evaluation of both the overall realism of the predictions and the specific errors in each sub-basin.

A maritime decision support system to assess risk in the presence of environmental uncertainties: the REP10 experiment

The aim of this work is to report on an activity carried out during the 2010 Recognized Environmental Picture experiment, held in the Ligurian Sea during summer 2010. The activity was the first at-sea test of the recently developed decision support system (DSS) for operation planning, which had previously been tested in an artificial experiment. The DSS assesses the impact of both environmental conditions (meteorological and oceanographic) and non-environmental conditions (such as traffic density maps) on people and assets involved in the operation and helps in deciding a course of action that allows safer operation. More precisely, the environmental variables (such as wind speed, current speed and significant wave height) taken as input by the DSS are the ones forecasted by a super-ensemble model, which fuses the forecasts provided by multiple forecasting centres. The uncertainties associated with the DSS’s inputs (generally due to disagreement between forecasts) are propagated through the DSS’s output by using the unscented transform. In this way, the system is not only able to provide a traffic light map (run/not run the operation), but also to specify the confidence level associated with each action. This feature was tested on a particular type of operation with underwater gliders: the glider surfacing for data transmission. It is also shown how the availability of a glider path prediction tool provides surfacing options along the predicted path. The applicability to different operations is demonstrated by applying the same system to support diver operations.

Contribution of a Wide-Swath Altimeter in a Shelf Seas Assimilation System: Impact of the Satellite Roll Errors

Abstract The authors investigate the potential qualitative improvement brought by wide-swath, interferometry-based ocean altimetry measurements with respect to classical nadir altimeters in a coastal/shelf data assimilation system. In addition, particular attention is paid to roll errors, which could significantly reduce the expected benefits of wide-swath altimetry. A barotropic, nonlinear free-surface model is set up over the European shelf as part of an ensemble Kalman filter. Experiments assimilating simulated data are performed over the North Sea to test the ability of altimeter configurations to reduce model errors due to the action of meteorological forcing in the presence of bathymetric uncertainties. A simplified wide-swath observation scheme is used, composed of nadir altimeter height plus a nadir-centered cross-track sea level slope measurement. The simplified wide-swath measurements are found to be able to constrain events unsampled by a single nadir altimeter owing to a wider domain of influe...

Subsurface circulation and mesoscale variability in the Algerian subbasin from altimeter-derived eddy trajectories

Algerian eddies are the strongest and largest propagating mesoscale structures in the Western Mediterranean Sea. They have a large influence on the mean circulation, water masses and biological processes. Over 20 years of satellite altimeter data have been analyzed to characterize the propagation of these eddies using automatic detection methods and cross-correlation analysis. We found that, on average, Algerian eddy trajectories form two subbasin scale anticlockwise gyres that coincide with the two Algerian gyres which were described in the literature as the barotropic circulation in the area. This result suggests that altimetry sea surface observations can provide information on subsurface currents and their variability through the study of the propagation of deep mesoscale eddies in semienclosed seas. The analysis of eddy sea level anomalies along the mean pathways reveals three preferred areas of formation. Eddies are usually formed at a specific time of the year in these areas, with a strong interannual variability over the last 20 years.