During 2014 exceptionally warm water temperatures developed across a wide area off the California coast and within San Francisco Bay (SFB) and persisted through the middle of 2016. Observations and numerical model output are used to document this warming and its origins. The coastal warming was mostly confined to the upper 100 meters of the ocean and was manifested strongly in the two leading modes of upper ocean (0-100 m) temperature variability in the extra-tropical eastern Pacific. Observations in the suggest that the coastal warming in 2014 propagated into nearshore regions from the west and later indicate a warming influence that propagates from south to north into the region associated with the 2015-16 El Niño event. An analysis of the upper ocean (0-100 m) heat budget in a Regional Ocean Modeling System hindcast simulation confirmed this scenario. The results from a set of sensitivity runs with the model in which the lateral boundary conditions varied supports the conclusions drawn from the heat budget analysis. Concerning the warming in the SFB, an examination of the observations and the heat budget in an unstructured-grid numerical model simulation suggests that the warming during the second half of 2014 and early 2016 originates in the adjacent California coastal ocean and propagates through the Golden Gate into the Bay. The finding that the coastal and Bay warming are due to the relatively slow propagation of signals from remote sources raise the possibility that such warming events may be predictable several months in advance.
A three-dimensional variational data assimilation (3DVAR) system (ROMS3DAR) has been developed in the framework of the Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS). This system enables the capability of predicting meso- to small-scale variations with temporal scales from hours to days in the coastal oceans. To cope with the particular difficulties that result from complex coastlines and bottom topography, unbalanced flows and sparse observations, ROMS3DVAR utilizes several novel strategies. These strategies include the implementation of three-dimensional anisotropic and inhomogeneous error correlations, application of particular weak dynamic contraints, and implementation of efficient and reliable algorithms for minimizing the cost function. ROMS3DVAR has been implemented in a quasi-real-time fashion in support of both the Southern and Central California Coastal Ocean Observing System (SCCOOS and CenCOOS). ROMS3DVAR assimilates a variety of observations, including satellite sea surface temperatures and sea surface heights, High Frequency (HF) radar velocities, ship reports and other available temperature and salinity profiles. The evaluation showed useful forecast skills.
Surface current observations made by high-frequency radar in the Monterey Bay region during August 2003 are
assimilated using a three-dimensional variational data assimilation scheme developed for the Regional Ocean Modeling
System (ROMS-DAS). The observed upwelling and relaxation surface currents in Monterey Bay are well recovered in
the analysis. A new mapping method based on ROMS-DAS is also proposed. This method is based on a variational
algorithm for the calculation of stream function and velocity potential from given velocity fields, and has the ability to
interpolate vectors over any irregular domain.
Salinity is important for understanding ocean dynamics, energy exchange with the atmosphere and the global water cycle. Existing data is limited and much of the ocean has never even been sampled. Sea surface salinity can be measured remotely by satellite and a three year mission for this purpose called Aquarius/SAC-D has recently been selected by NASA's Earth System Science Pathfinder (ESSP) program. The objective is to map the salinity field globally with a spatial resolution of 100 km and a monthly average accuracy of 0.2 psu. The mission, scheduled for launch in 2008, is a partnership of the United States National Aeronauatics and Space Agency (NASA) and the Argentine Comision Nacional de Actividades Epaciales (CONAE).
Access to the requested content is limited to institutions that have purchased or subscribe to SPIE eBooks.
You are receiving this notice because your organization may not have SPIE eBooks access.*
*Shibboleth/Open Athens users─please
sign in
to access your institution's subscriptions.
To obtain this item, you may purchase the complete book in print or electronic format on
SPIE.org.
INSTITUTIONAL Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.
PERSONAL Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.