Abstract
Abstract. A modelling system for the Adriatic Sea has been built within the framework of the Mediterranean Forecasting System Pilot Project. The modelling system consists of a hierarchy of three numerical models (whole Mediterranean Sea, whole Adriatic Sea, Northern Adriatic Basin) coupled among each other by simple one-way, off-line nesting techniques, to downscale the larger scale flow field to highly resolved coastal scale fields. Numerical simulations have been carried out under climatological surface forcing. Simulations were aimed to assess the effectiveness of the nesting techniques and the skill of the system to reproduce known features of the Adriatic Sea circulation phenomenology (main circulation features, dense water formation,flow at the Otranto Strait and coastal circulation characteristics over the northern Adriatic shelf), in view of the pre-operational use of the modelling system. This paper describes the modelling system setup, and discusses the simulation results for the whole Adriatic Sea and its northern basin, comparing the simulations with the observed climatological circulation characteristics. Results obtained with the northern Adriatic model are also compared with the corresponding simulations obtained with the coarser resolution Adriatic model. Key words. Oceanography: general (continental shelf processes; numerical modelling) – Oceanography: physical (general circulation)
Highlights
The Adriatic Sea (Fig. 1) is one of the major regional subbasins of the Mediterranean Sea
We have shown the first results of a modelling effort aimed at simulating the general circulation of the whole Adriatic Sea and of the northern Adriatic basin, making use of a hierarchy (OGCM, Adriatic Intermediate Model (AIM) and Northern Adriatic Shelf Model (NASM)) of nested numerical models coupled through a simple one-way, offline nesting technique
The accomplishment of the numerical simulation carried out under climatological forcing allowed the evaluation of the effectiveness of the nesting technique and the understanding to which extent the system is able to reproduce the climatological characteristics of the Adriatic Sea circulation
Summary
The Adriatic Sea (Fig. 1) is one of the major regional subbasins of the Mediterranean Sea. Part of this work builds on the previous modelling experience in the Adriatic Sea carried out by Zavatarelli et al (2002), who developed climatological numerical simulations of the Adriatic Sea general circulation already utilizing oneway nesting techniques with OGCM data specified on the model open boundary. Such model implementation constitutes the basis of the AIM nesting and has been transferred to the NASM.
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