Abstract
Abstract. Severe ice conditions in the Bohai Sea could cause serious harm to maritime traffic, offshore oil exploitation, aquaculture, and other economic activities in the surrounding regions. In addition to providing sea ice forecasts for disaster prevention and risk mitigation, sea ice numerical models could help explain the sea ice variability within the context of climate change in marine ecosystems, such as spotted seals, which are the only ice-dependent animal that breeds in Chinese waters. Here, we developed NEMO-Bohai, an ocean–ice coupled model based on the Nucleus for European Modelling of the Ocean (NEMO) model version 4.0 and Sea Ice Modelling Integrated Initiative (SI3) (NEMO4.0-SI3) for the Bohai Sea. This study will present the scientific design and technical choices of the parameterizations for the NEMO-Bohai model. The model was calibrated and evaluated with in situ and satellite observations of the ocean and sea ice. The model simulations agree with the observations with respect to sea surface height (SSH), temperature (SST), salinity (SSS), currents, and temperature and salinity stratification. The seasonal variation of the sea ice area is well simulated by the model compared to the satellite remote sensing data for the period of 1996–2017. Overall agreement is found for the occurrence dates of the annual maximum sea ice area. The simulated sea ice thickness and volume are in general agreement with the observations with slight overestimations. NEMO-Bohai can simulate seasonal sea ice evolution and long-term interannual variations. Hence, NEMO-Bohai is a valuable tool for long-term ocean and ice simulations and climate change studies.
Highlights
The Bohai Sea is the southernmost seasonal frozen sea in the Northern Hemisphere (Yan et al, 2017)
The bottom roughness impacts the dynamics of the tide, ocean circulation, and storm surges in the Bohai Sea
For the sea surface salinity, the observed in situ data for eight ocean stations (Wentuozi, Huludao, Zhimaowan, Qinhuangdao, Tanggu, Longkou, Penglai, Beihuangcheng) in the Bohai Sea are from Yuan et al (2015)
Summary
The Bohai Sea is the southernmost seasonal frozen sea in the Northern Hemisphere (Yan et al, 2017). Spotted seals (Phoca largha) are listed as a least concern species by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species and as a Grade II state protection species by China’s Wild Animal Protection Law (1988) They are distributed in the Northwest Pacific Ocean with Liaodong Bay in the Bohai Sea as their southernmost geographic breeding site. Li et al (2021) simulated sea ice variations in the severe winter of 2009–2010 in the Bohai Sea based on version 3.6 of the Nucleus for European Modelling of the Ocean (NEMO). Long-term sea ice simulations could help improve our understanding of thermodynamic and dynamic sea ice processes in the Bohai Sea, crucial for sea ice disaster prevention, spotted seal habitat studies, and regional climate change studies.
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