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

为了支持国家科学基金会海洋观测站倡议，拟议研究的目标是提供中大西洋湾先锋阵列收集的所有现有和未来观测结果的综合。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。拟议的研究将产生一系列高质量的环流分析中大西洋湾，将揭示新的不稳定性，涡流通量和表面强迫在促进跨大陆架交换和塑造该地区的流通的相对作用。 由此产生的流通分析将在罗格斯大学的网络服务器上提供，并将成为宝贵的社区资源。该项目的模型配置将用于国际暑期学校的讲座，为高年级研究生和早期职业科学家提供应用沿海海洋建模和数据同化的先进方法。该项目还将培训一名研究生，其具体目标是：㈠利用最先进的海洋模型和数据同化系统，对先锋阵列所覆盖区域内的海洋环流进行追溯和近实时分析; ㈡探索大陆架交换过程的动态;以及（iii）使用货架流通的动态激励度量来评估先锋阵列设计。将利用区域海洋模拟系统的多尺度配置和四维变分数据同化系统综合先锋阵列的观测结果。由于直接受观测值的约束，所得到的3维随时间演变的环流估计值将比孤立考虑的模式或观测值更可靠。环流估计数预计将涵盖2015-2018年期间，将提供一个宝贵的、无缝的多年和多尺度海洋数据集，用于探索该区域陆架断裂过程的动态，包括与分层有关的跨陆架通量的季节性变化、涡流通量、边界层的形成以及跨陆架断裂的偶发交换事件的发生。先锋阵列的系泊和移动的组件解决特定科学问题的能力将使用一套复杂的分析工具进行评估，这些工具量化了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。所使用的一套免费工具将包括观测影响和观测灵敏度计算、阵列模式识别以及观测系统模拟实验

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