The role of temporal resolution in modeling the wind induced sea surface transport in coastal seas

Abstract

Abstract In this research work, the accuracy of a state of the art ocean model in reproducing the sea surface transport in coastal area using observed wind forcing data characterized by temporal resolution spanning between the day and the minute is analyzed. Numerical simulations were carried out to reproduce the paths of a set of surface drifters released in the Gulf of Oristano (Italy), a coastal area of the Mediterranean Sea. From the model results, a macroscopic increase of the quality of the ocean model predictions is observed when switching from day to hours in the temporal resolution of the atmospheric forcing. On the other hand, extending the analysis to lower sampling intervals, from 1 h to 1 min, this positive relationship is not found. The obtained results lead to consider that, when dealing with temporal resolution of the wind forcing spanning from hours to seconds, the use of the lowest sampling interval does not guarantee the highest accuracy in the ocean model predictions.