A 1/36° model of the Solomon Sea embedded into a global ocean model: On the setting up of an interactive open boundary nested model system

Abstract

The implementation of a regional 1/36° numerical model of a key sub region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean: the Solomon Sea is discussed. This model is two-way embedded into a 1/12° resolution basin-scale model, itself one-way nested in a global 1/12° resolution ocean model. The three main questions discussed in this study concern (i) the bathymetry, (ii) the setting up of adequate forcing functions, especially regarding the wind stress parameterization, and (iii) the strategy used to embed and connect the model configurations together. Such a system, exemplified here for the Solomon Sea, represents a prototype of embedded model systems that are considered in operational oceanography.