Validation of the NEMO-ERSEM operational ecosystem model for the North West European Continental Shelf

• Main Authors: K. P. Edwards, R. Barciela, M. Butenschön
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Copernicus Publications 2012-11-01
• Series: Ocean Science
• Online Access: http://www.ocean-sci.net/8/983/2012/os-8-983-2012.pdf

This paper details updates to the Met Office's operational coupled hydrodynamic-ecosystem model from the 7 km Medium-Resolution Continental Shelf – POLCOMS-ERSEM (MRCS-PE) system (Siddorn et al., 2007) to the 7 km Atlantic Margin Model NEMO-ERSEM (AMM7-NE) system. We also provide a validation of the ecosystem component of the new operational system. Comparisons have been made between the model variables and available in situ, satellite and climatological data. The AMM7-NE system has also been benchmarked against the MRCS-PE system. The transition to the new AMM7-NE system was successful and it has been running operationally since March 2012 and has been providing products through MyOcean (<a href="http://www.myocean.eu.org" target="_blank">http://www.myocean.eu.org</a>) since that time. The results presented herein show the AMM7-NE system performs better than the MRCS-PE system with the most improvement in the model nutrient fields. The problem of nutrient accumulation in the MRCS-PE system appears to be solved in the new AMM7-NE system with nutrient fields improved throughout the domain as discussed in Sect. 4. Improvements in model chlorophyll are also seen but are more modest.