Assimilation of sea surface temperature, sea ice concentration and sea ice drift in a model of the Southern Ocean

Barth, Alexander; Canter, Martin; Schaeybroeck, Bert Van; Vannitsem, Stéphane; Massonnet, François; Zunz, Violette; Mathiot, Pierre; Alvera-Azcárate, Aida; Beckers, Jean-Marie. 2015 Assimilation of sea surface temperature, sea ice concentration and sea ice drift in a model of the Southern Ocean. Ocean Modelling, 93. 22-39. 10.1016/j.ocemod.2015.07.011

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This article has been accepted for publication and will appear in a revised form in Ocean Modelling, published by Elsevier. Copyright Elsevier.
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Abstract/Summary

Current ocean models have relatively large errors and biases in the Southern Ocean. The aim of this study is to provide a reanalysis from 1985 to 2006 assimilating sea surface temperature, sea ice concentration and sea ice drift. In the following it is also shown how surface winds in the Southern Ocean can be improved using sea ice drift estimated from infrared radiometers. Such satellite observations are available since the late seventies and have the potential to improve the wind forcing before more direct measurements of winds over the ocean are available using scatterometry in the late nineties. The model results are compared to the assimilated data and to independent measurements (the World Ocean Database 2009 and the mean dynamic topography based on observations). The overall improvement of the assimilation is quantified, in particular the impact of the assimilation on the representation of the polar front is discussed. Finally a method to identify model errors in the Antarctic sea ice area is proposed based on Model Output Statistics techniques using a series of potential predictors. This approach provides new directions for model improvements.

Item Type:	Publication - Article
Digital Object Identifier (DOI):	10.1016/j.ocemod.2015.07.011
Programmes:	BAS Programmes > BAS Programmes 2015 > Polar Oceans
ISSN:	14635003
Additional Keywords:	Ensemble Kalman Filter; Data assimilation; Sea ice drift; Model Output Statistics; Southern Ocean
Date made live:	31 Jul 2015 09:17 +0 (UTC)
URI:	https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/511406

Item Type:

Publication - Article

Digital Object Identifier (DOI):

10.1016/j.ocemod.2015.07.011

Programmes:

BAS Programmes > BAS Programmes 2015 > Polar Oceans

ISSN:

14635003

Additional Keywords:

Ensemble Kalman Filter; Data assimilation; Sea ice drift; Model Output Statistics; Southern Ocean

Date made live:

31 Jul 2015 09:17 +0 (UTC)