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Enhancing predictability of the Loop Current variability using Gulf of Mexico Hycom
Matthieu Le Henaff, Villy Kourafalou, Ashwanth Srinivasan
RSMAS
(Abstract received 04/28/2009 for session X)
ABSTRACT
The Loop Current is connecting water masses from the Yucatan to the Florida straits, with northern extensions sometimes interacting with the Mississippi river outflow. It sheds anticyclonic eddies that keep warm waters for months during their drift towards the western part of the Gulf of Mexico. A high resolution atmospheric forced Hycom simulation has been set up to study the connectivity associated to the Loop Current and its eddy shedding, with a focus on the role played by sub-mesoscale cyclonic eddies surrounding the current extension. Ensemble studies are considered to study the sensitivity of the Loop Current representation to boundary conditions. Such an approach has proven relevant for the study of model uncertainties in coastal zone and the design of observing systems in terms of expected model improvement. Observing system simulation experiments are also considered for the same purpose, as well as for evaluating the efficiency of various data assimilation schemes.
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2009 LOM Workshop, Miami, Florida Jume 1 - 3, 2009