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SUMMARY:Regional and coastal ocean modelling: toward an operational system
  for well-informed decision making
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20211203T101500Z
DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20211203T104500Z
DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20260718T091939Z
UID:indico-contribution-1513@events.chpc.ac.za
DESCRIPTION:Speakers: Jennifer Veitch (South African Environmental Observa
 tion Network (SAEON))\nNumerical modelling is an essential component of in
 tegrated ocean monitoring and\, together with in situ observations and rem
 ote sensing products\, is one of the critical tools informing stakeholders
  about highly variable regional and coastal environments. Operational ocea
 n modelling becomes particularly valuable in South Africa when one conside
 rs the dynamic nature of its surrounding oceans\, including but not limite
 d to its proximity to one of the most energetic current systems in the wor
 ld\, the Agulhas Current.  The Agulhas Current exhibits intense mesoscale 
 activity in the form of events such as eddy shedding events at the Agulhas
  Retroflection\, the interaction of eddies from the Mozambique Channel wit
 h the Agulhas Current proper\, and the meandering nature of the Agulhas Re
 turn Current. The unpredictability and intensity of the currents represent
  a direct risk to industrial\, commercial and leisure activities\, for exa
 mple\, accidental pollutants\, such as oil spills\, which may advect onsho
 re to the detriment of the coastal environment. Furthermore\, the Benguela
  Current system is known to be sensitive to climate change\, and climate v
 ariability such as the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO). Understanding
  these dynamics and their function in the ecosystem\, such as associations
  to harmful algal blooms (HABs) is an important part of resource managemen
 t. Hence\, the development of regional operational modelling capacity is o
 f key interest. This program supports SOMISANA (Sustainable Ocean Modellin
 g Initiative: a South African Approach) whose vision is to facilitate the 
 local development and sustainability of an operational ocean current forec
 ast system for the South African exclusive economic zone and to do so in a
  transformative fashion. To this end\, its two immediate goals are: (1) to
  develop local numerical ocean modelling capacity via student supervision 
 and (2) to develop high resolution ‘hindcast’ numerical models\, optim
 ized for South Africa’s shelf region as well as bay-scale forecast model
 s\, downscaled from freely available global products that poorly resolve t
 he processes in these regions. These objectives will not only lay the foun
 dation for the development of South Africa’s operational ocean forecasti
 ng system\, they will also ensure our contribution to UN Decade of Ocean S
 cience endorsed projects: CoastPredict and ForeSea.\n\nhttps://events.chpc
 .ac.za/event/98/contributions/1513/
LOCATION:
URL:https://events.chpc.ac.za/event/98/contributions/1513/
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