Long-Term Mean Circulation of the Baltic Sea as Represented by Various Ocean Circulation Models
The skill of the state-of-the-art ocean circulation models GETM (General Estuarine Transport Model), RCO (Rossby Centre Ocean model), and MOM (Modular Ocean Model) to represent hydrographic conditions and the mean circulation of the Baltic Sea is investigated. The study contains an assessment of ver...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2018-09-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Marine Science |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fmars.2018.00287/full |
| _version_ | 1828232682156326912 |
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| author | Manja Placke H. E. Markus Meier H. E. Markus Meier Ulf Gräwe Thomas Neumann Claudia Frauen Ye Liu |
| author_facet | Manja Placke H. E. Markus Meier H. E. Markus Meier Ulf Gräwe Thomas Neumann Claudia Frauen Ye Liu |
| author_sort | Manja Placke |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The skill of the state-of-the-art ocean circulation models GETM (General Estuarine Transport Model), RCO (Rossby Centre Ocean model), and MOM (Modular Ocean Model) to represent hydrographic conditions and the mean circulation of the Baltic Sea is investigated. The study contains an assessment of vertical temperature and salinity profiles as well as various statistical time series analyses of temperature and salinity for different depths at specific representative monitoring stations. Simulation results for 1970–1999 are compared to observations from the Baltic Environmental Database (BED). Further, we analyze current velocities and volume transports both in the horizontal plane and through three transects in the Baltic Sea. Simulated current velocities are validated against 10 years of Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) measurements in the Arkona Basin and 5 years of mooring observations in the Gotland Basin. Furthermore, the atmospheric forcing datasets, which drive the models, are evaluated using wind measurements from 28 automatic stations along the Swedish coast. We found that the seasonal cycle, variability, and vertical profiles of temperature and salinity are simulated close to observations by RCO with an assimilation setup. All models reproduce temperature well near the sea surface. Salinity simulations are of lower quality from GETM in the northern Baltic Sea and from MOM at various stations. Simulated current velocities lie mainly within the standard deviation of the measurements at the two monitoring stations. However, sea surface currents and transports in the ocean interior are significantly larger in GETM than in the other models. Although simulated hydrographic profiles agree predominantly well with observations, the mean circulation differs considerably between the models highlighting the need for additional long-term current measurements to assess the mean circulation in ocean models. With the help of reanalysis data ocean state estimates of regions and time periods without observations are improved. However, due to the lack of current measurements only the baroclinic velocities of the reanalyses are reliable. A substantial part of the differences in barotropic velocities between the three ocean models and reanalysis data is explained by differences in wind velocities of the atmospheric forcing datasets. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-12T19:27:06Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-26509768d7ef4ceb8713de8f1227fc3a |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2296-7745 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T19:27:06Z |
| publishDate | 2018-09-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Marine Science |
| spelling | doaj.art-26509768d7ef4ceb8713de8f1227fc3a2022-12-22T03:19:27ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Marine Science2296-77452018-09-01510.3389/fmars.2018.00287389578Long-Term Mean Circulation of the Baltic Sea as Represented by Various Ocean Circulation ModelsManja Placke0H. E. Markus Meier1H. E. Markus Meier2Ulf Gräwe3Thomas Neumann4Claudia Frauen5Ye Liu6Department of Physical Oceanography and Instrumentation, Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research Warnemünde, Rostock, GermanyDepartment of Physical Oceanography and Instrumentation, Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research Warnemünde, Rostock, GermanyDepartment of Research and Development, Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute, Norrköping, SwedenDepartment of Physical Oceanography and Instrumentation, Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research Warnemünde, Rostock, GermanyDepartment of Physical Oceanography and Instrumentation, Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research Warnemünde, Rostock, GermanyDepartment of Physical Oceanography and Instrumentation, Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research Warnemünde, Rostock, GermanyDepartment of Research and Development, Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute, Norrköping, SwedenThe skill of the state-of-the-art ocean circulation models GETM (General Estuarine Transport Model), RCO (Rossby Centre Ocean model), and MOM (Modular Ocean Model) to represent hydrographic conditions and the mean circulation of the Baltic Sea is investigated. The study contains an assessment of vertical temperature and salinity profiles as well as various statistical time series analyses of temperature and salinity for different depths at specific representative monitoring stations. Simulation results for 1970–1999 are compared to observations from the Baltic Environmental Database (BED). Further, we analyze current velocities and volume transports both in the horizontal plane and through three transects in the Baltic Sea. Simulated current velocities are validated against 10 years of Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) measurements in the Arkona Basin and 5 years of mooring observations in the Gotland Basin. Furthermore, the atmospheric forcing datasets, which drive the models, are evaluated using wind measurements from 28 automatic stations along the Swedish coast. We found that the seasonal cycle, variability, and vertical profiles of temperature and salinity are simulated close to observations by RCO with an assimilation setup. All models reproduce temperature well near the sea surface. Salinity simulations are of lower quality from GETM in the northern Baltic Sea and from MOM at various stations. Simulated current velocities lie mainly within the standard deviation of the measurements at the two monitoring stations. However, sea surface currents and transports in the ocean interior are significantly larger in GETM than in the other models. Although simulated hydrographic profiles agree predominantly well with observations, the mean circulation differs considerably between the models highlighting the need for additional long-term current measurements to assess the mean circulation in ocean models. With the help of reanalysis data ocean state estimates of regions and time periods without observations are improved. However, due to the lack of current measurements only the baroclinic velocities of the reanalyses are reliable. A substantial part of the differences in barotropic velocities between the three ocean models and reanalysis data is explained by differences in wind velocities of the atmospheric forcing datasets.https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fmars.2018.00287/fullBaltic Seaocean circulation model assessmenthydrographic conditionsmean circulationcurrent velocity measurements |
| spellingShingle | Manja Placke H. E. Markus Meier H. E. Markus Meier Ulf Gräwe Thomas Neumann Claudia Frauen Ye Liu Long-Term Mean Circulation of the Baltic Sea as Represented by Various Ocean Circulation Models Frontiers in Marine Science Baltic Sea ocean circulation model assessment hydrographic conditions mean circulation current velocity measurements |
| title | Long-Term Mean Circulation of the Baltic Sea as Represented by Various Ocean Circulation Models |
| title_full | Long-Term Mean Circulation of the Baltic Sea as Represented by Various Ocean Circulation Models |
| title_fullStr | Long-Term Mean Circulation of the Baltic Sea as Represented by Various Ocean Circulation Models |
| title_full_unstemmed | Long-Term Mean Circulation of the Baltic Sea as Represented by Various Ocean Circulation Models |
| title_short | Long-Term Mean Circulation of the Baltic Sea as Represented by Various Ocean Circulation Models |
| title_sort | long term mean circulation of the baltic sea as represented by various ocean circulation models |
| topic | Baltic Sea ocean circulation model assessment hydrographic conditions mean circulation current velocity measurements |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fmars.2018.00287/full |
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