Toward Marine Environmental Predictions in the Mediterranean Sea Coastal Areas
353
17.4 The Mediterranean large scale and Adriatic coastal scale
observing systems
The Mediterranean Sea has been explored in the past twenty years by many international research programs that have defined the structure of the general circulation, collected and analyzed historical data sets and constructed numeric al models
ofthe large and regional scale circulation. This has put the basis for the initiation of
data assimilation experiments, the start of calibration/validation of the modeling
components and the set up ofthe permanent observing system elements.
A plan on the lines explained in Fig. 17.5 has been lied down (Pinardi and Flemming, 1998) which, at the end, aims at the forecast of primary production in the
Mediterranean Sea coastal areas from days to months. Such a prediction could have
consequences for the tourist industry and the fisheries but the way the prediction
will affect such activities is not yet clear. This is because policy and socio-economic elements should be studied together with the deterministic predictions in
order to be able to see the impact of forecasting in the management of the coastal
areas. Forecasting the Mediterranean marine areas state variables makes possible to
initialize coupled regional ocean-atmosphere models with assimilated ocean initial
conditions. Coupled ocean-atmosphere models at Mediterranean scale may be
important to increase the predictability time scale for the hydrological cycle over
these areas.
Following the plan, a large scale observing system for the Mediterranean has
been set up and it is schematized in Fig. 17.6a. Its single components work in near
real time meaning that observed variables are exchanged with a short delay (1-2
days maximum) between data collection and the modeling centers. The forecasting/modeling center receives both the satellite and in situ data sets with a one-two
days delay with respect the last day of data collection every week. Two are the novelties ofthe system implemented in the Mediterranean: first the Voluntary Observing System (VOS) was designed at high resolution and secondly a new type of
moored buoy was designed for multidisciplinary measurements.
The VOS tracks for the Mediterranean are described in Fig. 17.6b; theyare occupied twice a month with 12 n.m. resolution XBT down to 700 m (for a complete
description, see chapter in this book). This spatial frequency requires technical personnel on board of the ships allowing for a much greater control of the quality of
the XBT profile. The north-south tracks take less than one day to be done while the
one across the longitudinal extension of the Mediterranean is two weeks long. The
implementation of the observing system at the Mediterranean basin scale has been
shown to be feasible but major data transmission problems have been encountered
during the winter months where the temperature profiles are practically uniform
and the standard software does not easily compute decimated data. The XBT data
is sent to the Global Teleconnection System (GTS, Daley, 1991) but at the same
time it is stored at a local Mediterranean data collection center.
The buoy system designed for the Mediterranean is similar to the TAO/TRITON
buoys (McPhaden, 1995) but with the addition ofbiochemical measurements. The
353
17.4 The Mediterranean large scale and Adriatic coastal scale
observing systems
The Mediterranean Sea has been explored in the past twenty years by many international research programs that have defined the structure of the general circulation, collected and analyzed historical data sets and constructed numeric al models
ofthe large and regional scale circulation. This has put the basis for the initiation of
data assimilation experiments, the start of calibration/validation of the modeling
components and the set up ofthe permanent observing system elements.
A plan on the lines explained in Fig. 17.5 has been lied down (Pinardi and Flemming, 1998) which, at the end, aims at the forecast of primary production in the
Mediterranean Sea coastal areas from days to months. Such a prediction could have
consequences for the tourist industry and the fisheries but the way the prediction
will affect such activities is not yet clear. This is because policy and socio-economic elements should be studied together with the deterministic predictions in
order to be able to see the impact of forecasting in the management of the coastal
areas. Forecasting the Mediterranean marine areas state variables makes possible to
initialize coupled regional ocean-atmosphere models with assimilated ocean initial
conditions. Coupled ocean-atmosphere models at Mediterranean scale may be
important to increase the predictability time scale for the hydrological cycle over
these areas.
Following the plan, a large scale observing system for the Mediterranean has
been set up and it is schematized in Fig. 17.6a. Its single components work in near
real time meaning that observed variables are exchanged with a short delay (1-2
days maximum) between data collection and the modeling centers. The forecasting/modeling center receives both the satellite and in situ data sets with a one-two
days delay with respect the last day of data collection every week. Two are the novelties ofthe system implemented in the Mediterranean: first the Voluntary Observing System (VOS) was designed at high resolution and secondly a new type of
moored buoy was designed for multidisciplinary measurements.
The VOS tracks for the Mediterranean are described in Fig. 17.6b; theyare occupied twice a month with 12 n.m. resolution XBT down to 700 m (for a complete
description, see chapter in this book). This spatial frequency requires technical personnel on board of the ships allowing for a much greater control of the quality of
the XBT profile. The north-south tracks take less than one day to be done while the
one across the longitudinal extension of the Mediterranean is two weeks long. The
implementation of the observing system at the Mediterranean basin scale has been
shown to be feasible but major data transmission problems have been encountered
during the winter months where the temperature profiles are practically uniform
and the standard software does not easily compute decimated data. The XBT data
is sent to the Global Teleconnection System (GTS, Daley, 1991) but at the same
time it is stored at a local Mediterranean data collection center.
The buoy system designed for the Mediterranean is similar to the TAO/TRITON
buoys (McPhaden, 1995) but with the addition ofbiochemical measurements. The