Abstract:

The dataset is based on archives from the University of Miami’s high-resolution (1/50 degrees, 1.8 km) configuration of the Hybrid Coordinate Ocean Model (HYCOM) in the Gulf of Mexico (GoM-HYCOM 1/50) for the year of 2015. The GoM-HYCOM 1/50 used realistic river forcing parameterization developed by Schiller and Kourafalou (2010). The river discharge data used for the river forcing was obtained from the Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). Atmospheric forcing was obtained from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) at 0.125-degree spatial resolution and it is nested at the open boundaries using the Global HYCOM expt_91.1. The model assimilated satellite observations of sea surface temperature and sea surface height, and in situ observations of temperature and salinity. The GoM-HYCOM 1/50 gives details on the fronts and filaments associated with the Mississippi River plume dynamics, as well as GoM mesoscale processes relevant to this study (in particular the Loop Current frontal dynamics and their influence on plume transport). The dataset includes the surface model fields of temperature, salinity, currents and sea surface height from the GoM 1/50 at 12Z.

Suggested Citation:

Kourafalou, Villy; Kang, HeeSook; Le Henaff, Mattieu. 2019. Surface model fields of temperature, salinity, currents and sea elevation from the GOM-HYCOM 1/50 from 2015-01-01 to 2015-12-31. Distributed by: GRIIDC, Harte Research Institute, Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi. doi:10.7266/n7-3s8f-m404

Publications:

Androulidakis, Y., Kourafalou, V., Le Hénaff, M., Kang, H., Sutton, T., Chen, S., … Ntaganou, N. (2019). Offshore spreading of Mississippi waters: pathways and vertical structure under eddy influence. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans. doi:10.1029/2018jc014661

Androulidakis, Y., Kourafalou, V., Le Hénaff, M., Kang, H., Ntaganou, N., & Hu, C. (2020). Gulf Stream evolution through the Straits of Florida: the role of eddies and upwelling near Cuba. Ocean Dynamics. doi:10.1007/s10236-020-01381-5

Androulidakis, Y., Kourafalou, V., Robert Hole, L., Le Hénaff, M., & Kang, H. (2020). Pathways of Oil Spills from Potential Cuban Offshore Exploration: Influence of Ocean Circulation. Journal of Marine Science and Engineering, 8(7), 535. doi:10.3390/jmse8070535

Purpose:

Understand the circulation patterns and mesoscale processes in the Gulf of Mexico.

Data Parameters and Units:

MT (time, days since 1900-12-31 00:00:00), date (day as YYYYMMDD), depth (m), latitude (degrees North), longitude (degrees East), ssh (sea surface elevation, m), u (eastward_sea_water_velocity, m/s), v (northward_sea_water_velocity, m/s), sea surface temperature (degrees C), seawater salinity (psu). Filenames format: GOMl0.02_ecmwf_surfs_YYYY_DDD_hh_variable, where DDD= julian day, and variable is either SSH (sea surface elevation) or UVST (temperature, salinity, and currents).

Provenance and Historical References:

Schiller, R. V., & Kourafalou, V. H. (2010). Modeling river plume dynamics with the Hybrid Coordinate Ocean Model. Ocean Modelling, 33(1-2), 101–117. doi:10.1016/j.ocemod.2009.12.005

Individual Files: