The Mediterranean Forecasting System program: results of Pilot Project and ongoing research

HR: 16:10h
AN: OS52E-08 INVITED [PDF]
TI: The Mediterranean Forecasting System program: results of Pilot Project and ongoing research
AU: * Pinardi, N
EM: n.pinardi@ambra.unibo.it
AF: National Institute of Geophysic and Volcanology, Via Donato Creti nų12, Bologna, ITA 40128 Italy
AU: Coppini, G
EM: coppini@bo.ingv.it
AF: National Institute of Geophysic and Volcanology, Via Donato Creti nų12, Bologna, ITA 40128 Italy
AU: Tonani, M
EM: tonani@bo.ingv.it
AF: National Institute of Geophysic and Volcanology, Via Donato Creti nų12, Bologna, ITA 40128 Italy
AU: Dobricic, S
EM: dobricic@bo.ingv.it
AF: National Institute of Geophysic and Volcanology, Via Donato Creti nų12, Bologna, ITA 40128 Italy
AU: Fratianni, C
EM: fratianni@bo.ingv.it
AF: National Institute of Geophysic and Volcanology, Via Donato Creti nų12, Bologna, ITA 40128 Italy
AU: Grezio, A
EM: grezio@bo.ingv.it
AF: National Institute of Geophysic and Volcanology, Via Donato Creti nų12, Bologna, ITA 40128 Italy
AU: Coluccelli, A
EM: colucix@bo.ingv.it
AF: National Institute of Geophysic and Volcanology, Via Donato Creti nų12, Bologna, ITA 40128 Italy
AB: The EuroGOOS Mediterranean Task Team organised in the past eight years the implementation, development and operational testing of the basin and regional scales forecasting system for the Mediterranean Sea. The first Project, called Mediterranean Forecasting System Pilot Project, MFSPP, was supported by the European Union (IV Framework Programme - Energy, Enviroment and Sustainable Development, action for "Sustainable Marine Ecosystems"). The project lasted 3 years and ended in 2002 and achieved the following goals: 1) the first basin scale real time observing system was set up and operated with satellite,VOS-XBT and moored buoys observations; 2) the real time forecasting system assimilated all these observations and produced a 10 days forecast every week; 3) regional and shelf models were nested and calibrated within the MFS basin scale model; 4) biochemical flux models were calibrated and validated with data assimilation componets for several open ocean and shelf areas in the Mediterranean. A new initiative started which is called Mediterranean Forecasting System Toward Environmental Predictions-MFSTEP and it is supported by the European Community (V Framework Programme - Energy, Enviroment and Sustainable Development, action for "Sustainable Marine Ecosystems"). This project aims at the further development of the operational ocean forecasting system developed in MFSPP. MFSTEP is based upon three main components: a) the Near Real Time Observing system; b) the numerical forecasting systems at basin scale and for regional areas; c) the forecast products dissemination/exploitation system. The problems to be solved in MFSTEP belong to three major categories: 1) Technology developments, connected to the new instrumentation for NRT monitoring and the provision of NRT protocols for data dissemination and quality control procedures; 2) Scientific developments, connected to the understanding of the sampling scheme for different measuring platforms, the design and implementation of data assimilation schemes for different spatial scales, the ecosystem modelling validation/calibration experiments for the basin and the coastal scales and the development of data assimilation techniques for biochemical data; 3) Exploitation developments, consisting of the development of software interfaces between forecast products and oil spill modelling, general contaminant dispersion models, relocatable emergency systems, search and rescue models, and fish stock observing systems. In addition, the study of forecast economic value and impact will be carried out.
UR: http://www.bo.ingv.it/mfstep
DE: 4200 OCEANOGRAPHY: GENERAL
DE: 4223 Descriptive and regional oceanography
DE: 4255 Numerical modeling
DE: 4263 Ocean prediction
DE: 4294 Instruments and techniques
SC: Ocean Sciences [OS]
MN: 2004 Ocean Sciences Meeting