Assessment of operational models in the Balearic Sea during a MEDESS-4MS experiment

Special issue Physical, chemical and biological observations and modelling of oil spills in the Mediterranean Sea.-- 14 pages, 9 figures, 2 tables

We study the capabilities of four existing Operational Forecasting Systems to forecast the trajectories of a hypothetical surface oil spill in a region of the Western Mediterranean Sea, the Balearic sub-basin. Two of the systems operate at basin scale (MyO-GLOBAL and MED-MFC) and the other two at regional scale (IBI-MFC and WMOP). The model assessment is first studied using synoptic fields of models and observations from ship in two different areas. The behavior of all systems shows similarities and differences with the real observations especially within the thermocline. Secondly, a Lagrangian assessment points out the large differences obtained between the different models in the different areas. Results indicate the importance of reproducing the sub-mesoscalar structures in the Balearic Sea in order to develop accurate and reliable tracking systems, a question that today is far from being achieved

Authors would like to thank the financial support of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through the MEDESS-4MS Project and EU-H2020 Project Jerico-Next. E. Capó thanks financial support from EVOS-Project-CSIC201530E067. A. Orfila thanks financial support from ENAP-Colombian Army through several grants. J.M. Sayol is supported by the JAE-Pre scholarships co-funded by CSIC and ESF. D. Conti is currently a PhD fellowship (FPI/1543/2013) granted by the “Conselleria d׳Educació, Cultura i Universitats” from the Government of the Balearic Islands co-financed by the European Social Fund.

Peer Reviewed