Waves and Operational Oceanography

Do our ocean models  represent this reality  ?
ocean surface

... Not the ones I know of.

You may ask ... "Well does it matter ?  Why should a computer model represent every feature of the real world ? We are not doing virtual reality, are we ?"  (see this for VR).

Sure ... but are we serious about forecasting air-sea fluxes, surface drift, ocean waves ?  For this, a  little more realism would help.

link to : FORUM: wave - circulation coupling today and tomorrow

Trying to keep up with the litterature:
 ... anybody willing to help synthesize all this into a single model ? 

Last update: 31 January 2005. Contact: Fabrice Ardhuin (@shom.fr)


WOO2003, scientific workshop, 23 and 24 june 2003, Brest, France
Following developments in the field of wave – current interactions and recent events including the accidental pollution from the oil tanker Prestige, the French Hydrographic and Oceanographic Service (SHOM) hosted a scientific workshop to assess the current state of knowledge on waves in relation to currents, surface drifts and air-sea interactions. This workshop was an occasion to discuss the state of the art of ocean monitoring with Envisat’s ASAR, JASON’s altimeter, and future instruments (SWIMSAT) or techniques (GPS reflections from the surface), wave modelling (current third-generation models and beyond) and their practical use (operational forecasting of waves, surface mixed layer and surface drifts, dangerous waves). 

Participants helped define how observations, wave research and operational forecasting can be combined with the emerging operational oceanography to provide relevant services for end-users, based on theory for wave-current interaction processes including hydrodynamic modulation, turbulent profiles and air-sea fluxes. Waves are the driving force of littoral zone dynamics, responsible for coastal erosion and flooding, and on a larger scale waves determine the still poorly known air-sea exchanges (of momentum, heat, CO2 ...), a challenge for understanding global change and climate dynamics.  This workshop was also supported by CNRS and Ifremer.

  Final program and list of participants (PDF)  

 SUMMARY (PDF) published Annales Hydrographiques N° 772, 2004, with the proceedings

short  SUMMARY (PDF) as published in Eos (2005)

Workshop results and proceedings (HTML link)