3D reconstruction of horizontal and vertical quasi-geostrophic currents in the North Atlantic Ocean

Abstract

In this paper we introduce a new high-resolution (1/10°) data-driven dataset of 3D ocean currents developed by the National Research Council of Italy in the framework of the European Space Agency World Ocean Circulation project: the WOC-NATL3D dataset. The product domain extends over a wide portion of the North Atlantic Ocean from the surface down to 1500m depth, and the dataset covers the period between 2010 and 2019. To generate this product, a diabatic quasi-geostrophic diagnostic model is applied to data-driven 3D temperature and salinity fields obtained through a deep learning technique, along with ERA5 fluxes and empirical estimates of the horizontal Ekman currents based on input provided by the European Copernicus Marine Service. The assessment of WOC-NATL3D currents is performed by direct validation of the total horizontal velocities with independent drifter estimates at various depths (0, 15 and 1000m) and by comparing them with existing reanalyses that are obtained through the assimilation of observations into ocean general circulation numerical models. Our estimates of the ageostrophic components of the flow improve the total horizontal velocity reconstruction, being more accurate and closer to observations than model reanalyses in the upper layers, also providing an indirect proof of the reliability of the resulting vertical velocities. The reconstructed WOC-NATL3D currents are freely available at 10.12770/0aa7daac-43e6-42f3-9f95-ef7da46bc702 .