Fabrice Hernandez

The Pirata Program: History, Accomplishments, and Future Directions

The Pilot Research Moored Array in the tropical Atlantic (PIRATA) was developed as a multinational observation network to improve our knowledge and understanding of ocean-atmosphere variability in the tropical Atlantic. PIRATA was motivated by fundamental scientific issues and by societal needs for improved prediction of climate variability and its impact on the economies of West Africa, northeastern Brazil, the West Indies, and the United States. In this paper the implementation of this network is described, noteworthy accomplishments are highlighted, and the future of PIRATA in the framework of a sustainable tropical Atlantic observing system is discussed. We demonstrate that PIRATA has advanced beyond a “Pilot” program and, as such, we have redefined the PIRATA acronym to be “Prediction and Research Moored Array in the Tropical Atlantic.”

Can We Merge GEOSAT Follow-On with TOPEX/Poseidon and ERS-2 for an Improved Description of the Ocean Circulation?

Abstract Merging Geosat Follow-On (GFO) with TOPEX/Poseidon (TP) and ERS-2 altimeter data has the potential to improve the mapping of sea level and ocean circulation variations. This can be achieved, however, only if measurement errors and inconsistencies between the different missions are sufficiently reduced. In this paper, it is shown how to get consistent sea surface heights from the three missions using the most precise mission (TP) as a reference. A new technique is then used to estimate a GFO mean profile. This allows consistent sea level anomalies (SLAs) to be extracted from GFO, TP, and ERS-2. SLA data are then merged with a mapping technique that takes into account noise and residual long wavelength errors. Thanks to these techniques, it is shown that GFO can be combined with TP and ERS-2 and that the combination provides a significant improvement in the description of the mesoscale circulation.

Optimizing a Drifter Cast Strategy with a Genetic Algorithm

Abstract An experiment design problem–-that of drifter cast strategy–-is discussed. Different optimization techniques used as part of preparations for the Semaphore-93 air-sea experiment, during which drifters were deployed, are examined. The oceanographic experiment objective was to sample a 500-km-square zone cantered at 33°N, 22°W in the Azores current area, using an average of 25 surface drifters for at least one month. We investigate different “orders of merit” for determining the performance of a particular cast strategy, as well as the method of genetic algorithms for optimizing the strategy. Our technique uses dynamic reference knowledge of the area where the simulation takes place. Two reference sets were used: a steady-state field calculated with data collected from the Kiel University April 1982 hydrographic experiment, and data output from a regional quasigeostrophic model assimilating two years of Geosat altimetric data. The strategies obtained via the genetic algorithm method were compared w...

Mapping the Oceanic Mesoscale Circulation: Validation of Satellite Altimetry Using Surface Drifters

Abstract This study aims to show that Lagrangian surface drifters are a suitable means of validating the mapping of oceanic mesoscale circulation by satellite altimetry. Tests are done using Geosat data to simulate drifter trajectories in the Azores-Madeira area. Multivariate objective analysis is then done to estimate the dynamic topography and its associated formal error using the velocity measurements obtained along drifter trajectories. This dynamic-topography field is compared with the reference field as given by Geosat data. Sensitivity to drifter number and energy level is studied. It is shown that with 25 drifters in a 500-km × 500-km area, the dynamic topography is obtained to within a formal accuracy of around 10%–20%. The difference between the estimated and reference fields is below 2 cm rms. These errors are smaller than the mapping errors induced by the space-time sampling of ERS-1 or TOPEX-POSEIDON satellites. According to these preliminary results, surface drifters are an efficient tool fo...

Large structures and temporal change in the Azores Front during the SEMAPHORE experiment

The Structure des Echanges Mer-Atmosphere, Proprietes des Heterogeneites Oceaniques: Recherche Experimentale (SEMAPHORE) mesoscale experiment took place from July to November 1993 in the northern Canary Basin, where the circulation is dominated by the eastward flowing Azores Current (AC). A large data set was acquired from three hydrographic arrays (phases 1, 2, 3), current meter moorings, surface drifters drogued at 150 m, and 2000 m deep RAFOS floats. The analysis confirmed the large-scale observations previously made in this region but also provided new insights into fine-scale dynamics of the AC. The front was observed over the 6-month period. It was narrow (100 km) and mostly surface intensified (velocities reaching 40-50 cm s(-1)). Whereas at the beginning of the experiment (phase 1) the AC was mainly zonal with weak oscillations, large meridional meanders were observed from phase 2 until the end of the experiment. They seem to be related to the arrival of two Mediterranean eddies (Meddies), which interacted with the AC [Kase and Zenk, 1996; Tychensky and Carton, this issue]. The front had a deep dynamical signature (down to 2000 m), with a 16-18 sverdrup (Sv) volume transport (0-2000 m depth integrated). The southward recirculation branch of the AC near 22 degrees-23 degrees W [Klein and Siedler, 1989] corresponds to meridional transport of 5-6 Sv. Then, 4.5 Sv of these waters are recirculating westward (along 31 degrees-32 degrees N). Some interesting new oceanographic results were obtained by examining the RAFOS float trajectories over the abyssal plain. The circulation is similar to that observed at the surface, with mean velocities of about 1-3 cm s(-1) and eddy kinetic energy 4 cm(2) s(-2). In agreement with the analysis of current meter data this reveals a significant barotropic component in the Azores-Madeira flow field of roughly 3-3.5 cm s(-1).

Intercomparison of the Arctic sea ice cover in global ocean–sea ice reanalyses from the ORA-IP project

AbstractOcean–sea ice reanalyses are crucial for assessing the variability and recent trends in the Arctic sea ice cover. This is especially true for sea ice volume, as long-term and large scale sea ice thickness observations are inexistent. Results from the Ocean ReAnalyses Intercomparison Project (ORA-IP) are presented, with a focus on Arctic sea ice fields reconstructed by state-of-the-art global ocean reanalyses. Differences between the various reanalyses are explored in terms of the effects of data assimilation, model physics and atmospheric forcing on properties of the sea ice cover, including concentration, thickness, velocity and snow. Amongst the 14 reanalyses studied here, 9 assimilate sea ice concentration, and none assimilate sea ice thickness data. The comparison reveals an overall agreement in the reconstructed concentration fields, mainly because of the constraints in surface temperature imposed by direct assimilation of ocean observations, prescribed or assimilated atmospheric forcing and assimilation of sea ice concentration. However, some spread still exists amongst the reanalyses, due to a variety of factors. In particular, a large spread in sea ice thickness is found within the ensemble of reanalyses, partially caused by the biases inherited from their sea ice model components. Biases are also affected by the assimilation of sea ice concentration and the treatment of sea ice thickness in the data assimilation process. An important outcome of this study is that the spatial distribution of ice volume varies widely between products, with no reanalysis standing out as clearly superior as compared to altimetry estimates. The ice thickness from systems without assimilation of sea ice concentration is not worse than that from systems constrained with sea ice observations. An evaluation of the sea ice velocity fields reveals that ice drifts too fast in most systems. As an ensemble, the ORA-IP reanalyses capture trends in Arctic sea ice area and extent relatively well. However, the ensemble can not be used to get a robust estimate of recent trends in the Arctic sea ice volume. Biases in the reanalyses certainly impact the simulated air–sea fluxes in the polar regions, and questions the suitability of current sea ice reanalyses to initialize seasonal forecasts.

GODAE OceanView Class 4 forecast verification framework: global ocean inter-comparison

As part of the work of the GODAE OceanView Inter-comparison and Validation Task Team (IV-TT), 6 global ocean forecasting systems spread across 5 operational oceanography forecast centres were inter-compared using a common set of observations as a proxy for the truth. The ‘Class 4’ in the title refers to a set of forecast verification metrics defined in the MERSEA-IP/GODAE internal metrics document (Hernandez 2007), the defining feature of which is that comparisons between forecasts and observations take place in observation space. This approach is seen as a departure from other diagnostic approaches such as analysing model trends or innovation statistics, and is commonly used in the atmospheric community. The physical parameters involved in the comparison are sea surface temperature (SST), sub-surface temperature, sub-surface salinity and sea level anomaly (SLA). SST was measured using in-situ observations obtained from USGODAE, sub-surface conditions were compared to Argo profiles, while sea level anomaly was measured by several satellite altimeters courtesy of AVISO. The 5 forecast centres involved in the project were Met Office, Australian Bureau of Meteorology, Mercator Océan, Environment Canada and NOAA/NWS/NCEP. Combining Met Office, Mercator Océan and Environment Canada forecasts into a mixed resolution multi-model ensemble produces estimates of the ocean state which have better accuracy and associativity properties for SST, SLA and temperature profiles than any individual ensemble component.

Significance of cyclonic SubTropical Oceanic Rings of Magnitude (STORM) eddies for the carbon budget of the euphotic layer in the subtropical northeast Atlantic

[1] The interannual and seasonal variability of cyclonic eddies budded from the Azores Current during the period 1993–1999 in the northeast subtropical Atlantic region (20� N– 34� N; 19� W–35� W) was studied by using TOPEX/Poseidon and ERS-1/2 altimeter images, the operational ocean mesoscale forecasting system SOPRANE, and a mesoscale eddies automatic detection system. Seventeen cyclonic eddies were detected and monitored for time periods ranging from 50 to 360 days. They were characterized by mean westward velocity, amplitude, diameter, and eccentricity of about 2 km d � 1 , 8 cm, 187 km and 0.7, respectively. The generation of cyclonic eddies was subjected to an important interannual variability, especially in 1995 when the activity of cyclonic eddies in the northeast Atlantic was more intense and associated with parallel changes in the eddy energy of the Azores Current. Seventy-five percent of the mesoscale features were generated throughout the October–February period. Significant relationships were found between the seasonal NAO index and both the annual eddy kinetic and potential energy in the Azores Current region and also the total annual area occupied by STORM eddies, calculated with a 1-year phase lag. The outcome of this study was used to estimate the contribution of STORM eddies to the organic carbon deficit measured in the northeast subtropical Atlantic. On average, these eddies accounted for <1% of the net community production in the region. INDEX TERMS: 4520 Oceanography: Physical: Eddies and mesoscale processes; 4806 Oceanography: Biological and Chemical: Carbon cycling; 1640 Global Change: Remote sensing; 4215 Oceanography: General: Climate and interannual variability (3309); KEYWORDS: mesoscale eddies, organic carbon deficit, subtropical northeast Atlantic

Recent progress in performance evaluations and near real-time assessment of operational ocean products

Operational ocean forecast systems provide routine marine products to an ever-widening community of users and stakeholders. The majority of users need information about the quality and reliability of the products to exploit them fully. Hence, forecast centres have been developing improved methods for evaluating and communicating the quality of their products. Global Ocean Data Assimilation Experiment (GODAE) OceanView, along with the Copernicus European Marine Core Service and other national and international programmes, has facilitated the development of coordinated validation activities among these centres. New metrics, assessing a wider range of ocean parameters, have been defined and implemented in real-time. An overview of recent progress and emerging international standards is presented here.

The Copernicus Marine Environment Monitoring Service Ocean State Report

ABSTRACT The Copernicus Marine Environment Monitoring Service (CMEMS) Ocean State Report (OSR) provides an annual report of the state of the global ocean and European regional seas for policy and decision-makers with the additional aim of increasing general public awareness about the status of, and changes in, the marine environment. The CMEMS OSR draws on expert analysis and provides a 3-D view (through reanalysis systems), a view from above (through remote-sensing data) and a direct view of the interior (through in situ measurements) of the global ocean and the European regional seas. The report is based on the unique CMEMS monitoring capabilities of the blue (hydrography, currents), white (sea ice) and green (e.g. Chlorophyll) marine environment. This first issue of the CMEMS OSR provides guidance on Essential Variables, large-scale changes and specific events related to the physical ocean state over the period 1993–2015. Principal findings of this first CMEMS OSR show a significant increase in global and regional sea levels, thermosteric expansion, ocean heat content, sea surface temperature and Antarctic sea ice extent and conversely a decrease in Arctic sea ice extent during the 1993–2015 period. During the year 2015 exceptionally strong large-scale changes were monitored such as, for example, a strong El Niño Southern Oscillation, a high frequency of extreme storms and sea level events in specific regions in addition to areas of high sea level and harmful algae blooms. At the same time, some areas in the Arctic Ocean experienced exceptionally low sea ice extent and temperatures below average were observed in the North Atlantic Ocean.