This physical model of the northeast Atlantic is developed at Irish Marine Institute (Galway, Ireland). The system is based on the Regional Ocean Model (ROMS) code developed at Rutgers University. It is a free-surface, hydrostatic, primitive equation ocean model that uses sigma coordinates in the vertical and orthogonal curvilinear coordinates in the horizontal.

Northeast Atlantic (31°W - 9°E, 40°N - 64°N). Domain is not parallel to longitude and latitude. Covers Irish Shelf, Irish Sea, Bay of Biscay, Rockall Trough, Rockall and Hatton Banks

ROMS 3.1

Three Hourly

Curvilinear. Spherical coordinate (2.5 km)

40 sigma levels

Interpolated from GEBCO and Marine Institute databases (includes all Irish National Seabed Survey (INSS) data

3-Hourly GFS forecasts

Daily (climatology) run off from 38 rivers (Ireland, Britain and France (incl. Loire, Seine, Dordogne, Garonne)

Sea level and barotropic velocities from Mercator regional model Baroclinic open boundary condition from Mercator regional model

Logarithmic bottom friction

Laplacian horizontal mixing

Laplacian horizontal mixing

Large/McWilliams/Doney interior closure

TPX_07 tidal constituents at the boundaries , tidal potential

- Improved ROMS code (now using 3.1).

- Improved bathymetry.

- More rivers discharging into the model domain.

- Tide using most recent TPX_07 constituents.

- Tidal potential force added.

- The model is operational with 2.5 day forecasts consisting of 3-hourly outputs and selected stations at every 10 minutes.

- Online near real time validation against Argo float data with validation against Microwave OI SST, tide gauges and coastal buoys to come in the next few months.