Ocean forecasting in terrain-following coordinates: Formulation and skill assessment of the Regional Ocean Modeling System

  • Authors:

  • D. B. Haidvogel;H. Arango;W. P. Budgell;B. D. Cornuelle;E. Curchitser;E. Di Lorenzo;K. Fennel;W. R. Geyer;A. J. Hermann;L. Lanerolle;J. Levin;J. C. McWilliams;A. J. Miller;A. M. Moore;T. M. Powell;A. F. Shchepetkin;C. R. Sherwood;R. P. Signell;J. C. Warner;J. Wilkin

  • Affiliations:

  • Institute for Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, United States;Institute for Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, United States;Institute of Marine Research, Bergen, Norway;Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States;Institute for Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, United States;Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, United States;Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada;Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA, United States;Joint Institute for the Study of the Atmosphere and Ocean, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States;National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Silver Spring, MD, United States;Institute for Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, United States;University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States;Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States;University of California, Santa Cruz, Santa, United States;University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, United States;University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States;US Geological Survey, Woods Hole, MA, United States;US Geological Survey, Woods Hole, MA, United States;US Geological Survey, Woods Hole, MA, United States;Institute for Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, United States

  • Venue:
  • Journal of Computational Physics
  • Year:
  • 2008

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Abstract

Systematic improvements in algorithmic design of regional ocean circulation models have led to significant enhancement in simulation ability across a wide range of space/time scales and marine system types. As an example, we briefly review the Regional Ocean Modeling System, a member of a general class of three-dimensional, free-surface, terrain-following numerical models. Noteworthy characteristics of the ROMS computational kernel include: consistent temporal averaging of the barotropic mode to guarantee both exact conservation and constancy preservation properties for tracers; redefined barotropic pressure-gradient terms to account for local variations in the density field; vertical interpolation performed using conservative parabolic splines; and higher-order, quasi-monotone advection algorithms. Examples of quantitative skill assessment are shown for a tidally driven estuary, an ice-covered high-latitude sea, a wind- and buoyancy-forced continental shelf, and a mid-latitude ocean basin. The combination of moderate-order spatial approximations, enhanced conservation properties, and quasi-monotone advection produces both more robust and accurate, and less diffusive, solutions than those produced in earlier terrain-following ocean models. Together with advanced methods of data assimilation and novel observing system technologies, these capabilities constitute the necessary ingredients for multi-purpose regional ocean prediction systems.