Marine Science Faculty Publications
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
5-9-2008
Keywords
model nesting, West Florida Shelf, Loop Current
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.1029/2007JC004492
Abstract
A West Florida Shelf model based on the Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS) is nested in the North Atlantic Hybrid Coordinate Ocean Model (NAT HYCOM). The focus of this work is the study of the impact of the Loop Current on the West Florida Shelf. In order to assess the model's accuracy, it is compared quantitatively to in situ temperature and velocity measurements on the shelf. A series of sensitivity experiments are conducted to determine the appropriate wind forcing, sea surface temperature relaxation, and mixing scheme. by the inclusion of the Loop Current, we are able to study the propagation of an anticyclonic vortex detaching from the Loop Current. We found that the ambient gradient of potential vorticity is able to explain the vortex path and speed. The statistics of such Loop Current generated flow features were examined by including a tracer marking Loop Current water. This allows to track the Loop Current water on the West Florida Shelf and to quantify the amount of Loop Current water reaching the shelf.
Rights Information
Was this content written or created while at USF?
Yes
Citation / Publisher Attribution
Journal of Geophysical Research - Oceans, v. 113, issue C5, art. C05009
Copyright 2008 by the American Geophysical Union.
Scholar Commons Citation
Barth, Alexander; Alvera-Azcarate, Aida; and Weisberg, Robert H., "A Nested Model Study of the Loop Current Generated Variability and Its Impact on the West Florida Shelf" (2008). Marine Science Faculty Publications. 135.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/msc_facpub/135
