Performance of One-Way and Two-Way Nesting Techniques Using the Shelf Circulation Modelling System for the Eastern Canadian Shelf

Abstract

The performance of one-way and two-way nesting techniques is assessed in this study using model results produced by a regional ocean circulation modelling system for the eastern Canadian shelf. The assessment is made in terms of dynamical consistency between the parent model (PM) and child model (CM), representation of general circulation features, and reduction of numerical noise generated during the interaction of the PM and CM. It is demonstrated that the feedback from the CM to the PM in numerical experiments using two-way nesting ensures that the large-scale circulation produced by the PM and CM be dynamically consistent over the region where the two model domains overlap. In comparison with one-way nesting, two-way nesting leads to a better representation of coastal currents over the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the Scotian Shelf and improves the large-scale circulation in the results produced by the PM. This study also examines an alternative two-way nesting technique based on the semi-prognostic method in which differences between the PM and CM densities are used to adjust the horizontal momentum balance in the PM. Model results demonstrate the advantage of the semi-prognostic method in eliminating numerical noise during the feedback from the CM to PM while ensuring dynamical consistency between the two model components.