Numerical simulations of eddies in the Gulf of Lion

We present realistic simulations of mesoscale anticyclonic eddies, present in the western side of the Gulf of Lion and generally observed in satellite imagery during July and August. A nested model of 1-km resolution covering the Gulf of Lion is implemented from a coarse model of 3-km resolution. Th...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Ocean modelling (Oxford) 2009, Vol.28 (4), p.203-208
Main Authors: Hu, Z.Y., Doglioli, A.M., Petrenko, A.A., Marsaleix, P., Dekeyser, I.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
(Sub)mesoscale eddies
Atmospheric and Oceanic Physics
Marine
Northwestern mediterranean sea
Numerical modeling
Physics
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Summary:We present realistic simulations of mesoscale anticyclonic eddies, present in the western side of the Gulf of Lion and generally observed in satellite imagery during July and August. A nested model of 1-km resolution covering the Gulf of Lion is implemented from a coarse model of 3-km resolution. The models use an upwind-type advection–diffusion scheme, in which the numerical diffusion term is adjusted by an attenuation coefficient. Sensitivity tests have been carried out, varying the model spatial resolution and the attenuation coefficient to reproduce the (sub)mesoscale structures. A wavelet technique is applied to analyze the modelled horizontal relative vorticity in order to define the area, position and tracking duration of the eddy structures. Comparisons between the modelled eddies and those observed by satellite have allowed us to choose the best model setup. With this setup, the studied anticyclonic eddy lasted for 60 days.
ISSN:1463-5003
1463-5011
DOI:10.1016/j.ocemod.2009.02.004