Abstract
We present realistic simulations of mesoscale anticyclonic eddies, present in the western side of the Gulf of Lion and generally observed in satellite imagery during July and August. A nested model of 1-km resolution covering the Gulf of Lion is implemented from a coarse model of 3-km resolution. The models use an upwind-type advection–diffusion scheme, in which the numerical diffusion term is adjusted by an attenuation coefficient. Sensitivity tests have been carried out, varying the model spatial resolution and the attenuation coefficient to reproduce the (sub)mesoscale structures. A wavelet technique is applied to analyze the modelled horizontal relative vorticity in order to define the area, position and tracking duration of the eddy structures. Comparisons between the modelled eddies and those observed by satellite have allowed us to choose the best model setup. With this setup, the studied anticyclonic eddy lasted for 60 days.
Highlights
IntroductionThe Gulf of Lion (hereafter GoL) is located in the northwestern Mediterranean Sea (Fig. 2)
The Gulf of Lion is located in the northwestern Mediterranean Sea (Fig. 2)
This anticyclonic eddy is clearly observed in the chlorophyll a concentrations derived from satellite data (Fig. 3a)
Summary
The Gulf of Lion (hereafter GoL) is located in the northwestern Mediterranean Sea (Fig. 2). A general description of the hydrodynamics of the GoL is provided by Millot (1990) He was the pioneer in describing an anticyclonic circulation in the western part of the gulf following upwelling phenomena and an offshore drift of surface water (Fig. 1) (Millot, 1979; Millot, 1982). In both data and model, Estournel et al (2003) showed an anticyclonic eddy located at the center of the GoL continental shelf or an anticyclonic circulation covering the western and center parts of the GoL. The latter is known to play a key role because it controls the dissipation of the model energy and prevents the generation of numerical instabilities
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