Abstract
Abstract. In this paper, the performance of two operational ocean forecasting systems, the global Mercator Océan (MO) Operational System, developed and maintained by Mercator Océan in France, and the regional South China Sea Operational Forecasting System (SCSOFS), by the National Marine Environmental Forecasting Center (NMEFC) in China, have been examined. Both systems can provide science-based nowcast/forecast products of temperature, salinity, water level, and ocean circulations. Comparison and validation of the ocean circulations, the structures of temperature and salinity, and some mesoscale activities, such as ocean fronts, typhoons, and mesoscale eddies, are conducted based on observed satellite and in situ data obtained in 2012 in the South China Sea. The results showed that MO performs better in simulating the ocean circulations and sea surface temperature (SST), and SCSOFS performs better in simulating the structures of temperature and salinity. For the mesoscale activities, the performance of SCSOFS is better than MO in simulating SST fronts and SST decrease during Typhoon Tembin compared with the previous studies and satellite data; but model results from both of SCSOFS and MO show some differences from satellite observations. In conclusion, some recommendations have been proposed for both forecast systems to improve their forecasting performance in the near future based on our comparison and validation.
Highlights
The South China Sea (SCS, Fig.1) is the largest and deepest semi-enclosed marginal sea of the Northwest Pacific Ocean (NWP), with an area of about 3.5 million km2, and mean and maximum depth of about 1200 and 5300 m, respectively
The SCS is located in the East Asian Monsoon (EAM) winds regime; the northeasterly winds usually prevail with an average wind speed of 9 m s−1 over the whole domain in winter, while the southwesterly winds prevail with an average magnitude of 6 m s−1 dominating over the most parts of the SCS in summer (Hellerman and Rosenstein, 1983)
This paper demonstrated the results of comparison and validation for the performance of both systems on the ocean circulation, the structures of the temperature and salinity (TS), and mesoscale activities in the SCS, based on the observed satellite and in situ data in 2012
Summary
The South China Sea (SCS, Fig.1) is the largest and deepest semi-enclosed marginal sea of the Northwest Pacific Ocean (NWP), with an area of about 3.5 million km, and mean and maximum depth of about 1200 and 5300 m, respectively. The Kuroshio intrudes into the SCS through the LUS, carrying the warm and salty water from the NWP, significantly affecting the circulation pattern and the budgets of heat and salt in the NSCS (Farris and Wimbush, 1996; Wu and Chiang, 2007; Liang et al, 2008; Nan et al, 2013). This is still not in accordance with how the Kuroshio intrudes into the NSCS.
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