A large number of SLA observations at a high along track horizontal resolution are an important ingredient of the data assimilation in the Mediterranean Forecasting System (MFS). Recently, new higher-frequency SLA products have become available, and the atmospheric pressure forcing has been implemented in the numerical model used in the MFS data assimilation system. In a set of numerical experiments, we show that, in order to...

A novel method for three-dimensional variational assimilation of Lagrangian data with a primitive-equation ocean model is proposed. The assimilation scheme was implemented in the Mediterranean ocean Forecasting System and evaluated for a 4-month period. Four experiments were designed to assess the impact of trajectory assimilation on the model output, i.e. the sea-surface height, velocity, temperature and salinity fields. It w...

This paper describes the first evaluation of the quality of the forecast and analyses produced at the basin scale by the Mediterranean ocean Forecasting System (MFS) (http://gnoo.bo.ingv.it/mfs). The system produces short-term ocean forecasts for the following ten days. Analyses are produced weekly using a daily assimilation cycle. The analyses are compared with independent data from buoys, where available, and with the assimi...

A new numerical general circulation ocean model for the Mediterranean Sea has been implemented nested within an Atlantic general circulation model within the framework of the Marine Environment and Security for the European Area project (MERSEA, Desaubies, 2006). A 4-year twin experiment was carried out from January 2004 to December 2007 with two different models to evaluate the impact on the Mediterranean Sea circulation of o...

This study describes a new model implementation for the Mediterranean Sea with what is currently the highest vertical resolution over the Mediterranean basin. The resolution is of 1/16°×1/16° in the horizontal and has 72 unevenly spaced vertical levels. This model has been developed in the frame of the EU-MFSTEP project and is the operational forecast model currently used at the basin scale. The model considers an implicit fre...

This study presents the upgrade of the Optimal Interpolation scheme used in the basin scale assimilation scheme of the Mediterranean Forecasting System. The modifications include a daily analysis cycle, the assimilation of ARGO float profiles, the implementation of the geostrophic balance in the background error covariance matrix and the initialisation of the analyses. A series of numerical experiments showed that each modific...

A model study of the seasonal changes in the food web structure of the northern Adriatic Sea is presented. A 1–D ecosystem coupled model (POM/ERSEM) forced with climatological functions has been applied at two different station locations in the northern Adriatic Sea, one under the direct influence of the Po river inflow and one representing a more open sea situation. The ability of the model to reproduce the main physical and...