Northeast Coastal Ocean Forecast System (NECOFS): A Multi-scale Global-Regional-Estuarine FVCOM Model

Abstract:

The Northeast Coastal Ocean Forecast System (NECOFS) is a global-regional-estuarine integrated atmosphere/surface wave/ocean forecast model system designed for the northeast US coastal region covering a computational domain from central New Jersey to the eastern end of the Scotian Shelf. The present system includes 1) the mesoscale meteorological model WRF (Weather Research and Forecasting); 2) the regional-domain FVCOM covering the Gulf of Maine/Georges Bank/New England Shelf region (GOM-FVCOM); 3) the unstructured-grid surface wave model (FVCOM-SWAVE) modified from SWAN with the same domain as GOM-FVCOM; 3) the Mass coastal FVCOM with inclusion of inlets, estuaries and intertidal wetlands; and 4) three subdomain wave-current coupled inundation FVCOM systems in Scituate, MA, Hampton River, NH and Mass Bay, MA. GOM-FVCOM grid features unstructured triangular meshes with horizontal resolution of ~ 0.3-25 km and a hybrid terrain-following vertical coordinate with a total of 45 layers. The Mass coastal FVCOM grid is configured with triangular meshes with horizontal resolution up to ~10 m, and 10 layers in the vertical. Scituate, Hampton River and Mass Bay inundation model grids include both water and land with horizontal resolution up to ~5-10 m and 10 vertical layers. GOM-FVCOM is driven by surface forcing from WRF model output configured for the region (with 9-km resolution), the COARE3 bulk air-sea flux algorithm, local river discharges, and tidal forcing constructed by eight constituents and subtidal forcing on the boundary nested to the Global-FVCOM. SWAVE is driven by the same WRF wind field with wave forcing at the boundary nested to Wave Watch III configured for the northwestern Atlantic region. The Mass coastal FVCOM and three inundation models are connected with GOM-FVCOM through one-way nesting in the common boundary zones. The Mass coastal FVCOM is driven by the same surface forcing as GOM-FVCOM. The nesting boundary conditions for the inundation models include both hydrodynamics and waves provided by GOM-FVCOM and SWAVE. NECOFS was placed in experimental forecast operation in late 2007 and the daily 3-day forecast product can be accessed and viewed on the NECOFS web map server (http://porpoise1.smast.umassd.edu:8080/fvcomwms/).