Collaborative Research: A Model-Based Synthesis of Mid Atlantic Bight Pioneer Array Data to Infer Across-shelf Fluxes, Frontal Variability, and Characteristics of the Array

为了支持美国国家科学基金会海洋观测站倡议，拟议研究的目标是综合先驱者阵列在中大西洋湾收集的所有现有和未来观测资料。观测影响和观测灵敏度计算将用于评估观测阵列。到目前为止，这主要是数值天气预报的领域。拟议的研究将对中大西洋湾进行一系列高质量的环流分析，从而进一步阐明不稳定性、涡流通量和地表强迫在促进跨大陆架交换和形成该地区环流方面的相对作用。由此产生的循环分析将在罗格斯大学的网络服务器上提供，并将成为一种宝贵的社区资源。该项目的模型配置将用于国际暑期学校的讲座框架，向高年级研究生和早期职业科学家介绍应用沿海海洋建模和数据同化的先进方法。该项目还将培养一名研究生。该项目的具体目标是：(i)利用最先进的海洋模型和数据同化系统，对先驱者阵列所跨越的区域内的海洋环流进行追溯和近实时分析；（ii）探索货架交换过程的动态；（iii）使用大陆架循环的动态激励指标评估先锋阵列设计。利用区域海洋模拟系统的多尺度配置和4维变分数据同化系统对先锋阵列观测数据进行综合。由于直接受到观测值的约束，由此产生的三维随时间变化的环流估计将比模型或单独考虑的观测值更可靠。环流估计预计将跨越2015-2018年，并将提供一个有价值的、无缝的多年和多尺度海洋数据集，用于探索该地区大陆架断裂过程的动力学，包括与分层、涡动通量、边界层的形成和大陆架断裂上偶然交换事件的发生相关的大陆架间通量的季节变化。将使用一套复杂的分析工具来评估先锋阵列的系泊和移动组件解决特定科学问题的能力，这些工具可以量化单个观测和资产对针对上述物理过程的特定循环指标的影响。所使用的工具套件将包括观测影响和观测灵敏度计算、阵列模式识别和观测系统模拟实验

In support of the National Science Foundation Ocean Observatories Initiative, the objective of the proposed research is to provide a synthesis of all existing and future observations collected by the Pioneer Array in the Mid-Atlantic Bight. Observation impact and observation sensitivity calculations will be used to evaluate the observing array. Until now, this has been largely the domain of numerical weather prediction. The proposed research will yield a sequence of high quality circulation analyses for the Mid-Atlantic Bight that will shed new light on the relative role of instability, eddy fluxes and surface forcing in promoting cross-shelf exchange and in shaping the circulation of the region. The resulting circulation analyses will be made available on a web server at Rutgers University and will represent a valuable community resource. Model configurations from this project will be used to frame lectures for international summer schools addressing advanced methods in applied coastal ocean modeling and data assimilation to senior graduate students and early career scientists. The project will also train a graduate student.The specific goals of the project are to: (i) compute retroactive and near real-time analyses of the ocean circulation in the domain spanned by the Pioneer Array using a state-of-the-art ocean model and data assimilation system; (ii) explore the dynamics of shelf exchange processes; and (iii) evaluate the Pioneer Array design using dynamically motivated metrics of the shelf circulation. The Pioneer Array observations will be synthesized using a multi-scale configuration of the Regional Ocean Modeling System and a 4-dimensional variational data assimilation system. Being directly constrained by the observations, the resulting 3-dimensional time-evolving circulation estimates will be more reliable than either the model or the observations considered in isolation. The circulation estimates are expected to span the period 2015-2018 and will provide a valuable and seamless multi-year and multi-scale ocean data set that will be used to explore the dynamics of shelf-break processes in the region including seasonal variability in cross-shelf fluxes associated with stratification, eddy fluxes, the formation of boundary layers, and the occurrence of episodic exchange events across the shelf-break. The ability of the moored and mobile components of the Pioneer Array to address specific science questions will be evaluated using a suite of sophisticated analysis tools that quantify the impact of individual observations and assets on specific circulation metrics that target the aforementioned physical processes. The complimentary suite of tools used will include observation impact and observation sensitivity calculations, identification of the array modes, and observing system simulation experiments