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Title" West Coast Models, by Karen Green

The work of the UCLA ROMS team has already come up with results that underscore how local, regional, and global phenomena interact and impact each other. The group's simulations show that localized eddies that are highly irregular have more impact on the dilution of pollutants in the regional coastal system than large-scale currents--a finding that could impact pollution control policies, sewage treatment practices, and efforts to control pesticide runoff. Results also indicate that mesoscale currents have the most influence in determining the overall equilibrium of regional coastal systems--another finding that could affect public policy and understanding of global ocean and climate systems.

 
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Snapshot of surface temperature and currents on the fine grids of ROMS configured with 3 embedded domains for the Santa Monica Basin in the Southern California Bight. The simulation uses horizontal grid resolutions of 15, 5, and 1.5 kilometers. Note the formation of small-scale eddies from interaction of large-scale currents with islands and coastal landmarks.

In the months and years to come, the ROMS team plans to further refine their techniques and perhaps look at other coastal regions or other phenomena within the NAWC region.

"The really big picture means putting all the work and all the pieces together to get an understanding of global systems and global climate change," says McWilliams.

 

 

 

This research is supported by the National Science Foundation, the Office of Naval Research, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association, NASA, the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the California Sea Grant, and the Caltech President's Fund.