Search

A new unstructured-grid model and its application to the North Sea and Baltic Sea are described. The research focus is on the dynamics in the two basins and in the multiple straits connecting them and more specifically on how the model replicates the temporal and spatial variability of physical processes. The comparison against observed data indicates the realism in the simulations of the exchange flows. The simulations demonstrated that in contrast to the tidal variability which decreases in the strait, the role of the barotropic forcing due to weather systems increases. In this zone reversal of transport is well manifested by the increased difference between the surface and bottom salinity values. Small sub-basins like Arkona and Bornholm play the role of reservoirs for denser water which under specific conditions cascades on its way to the Gotland Deep. Unlike the intermediate and deep water salinity in the Baltic Sea, which is strongly affected by fluxes in the straits, the simulated winter-refill and evolution of cold intermediate water are rather driven by surface cooling and processes in the upper mixed layer.

We present a new 3D unstructured-grid model (SCHISM) which is an upgrade from an existing model (SELFE). The new advection scheme for the momentum equation includes an iterative smoother to reduce excess mass produced by higher-order kriging method, and a new viscosity formulation is shown to work robustly for generic unstructured grids and effectively filter out spurious modes without introducing excessive dissipation. A new higher-order implicit advection scheme for transport (TVD2) is proposed to effectively handle a wide range of Courant numbers as commonly found in typical cross-scale applications. The addition of quadrangular elements into the model, together with a recently proposed, highly flexible vertical grid system (Zhang et al., A new vertical coordinate system for a 3D unstructured-grid model. Ocean Model. 85, 2015), leads to model polymorphism that unifies 1D/2DH/2DV/3D cells in a single model grid. Results from several test cases demonstrate the model\'s good performance in the eddying regime, which presents greater challenges for unstructured-grid models and represents the last missing link for our cross-scale model. The model can thus be used to simulate cross-scale processes in a seamless fashion (i.e. from deep ocean into shallow depths).