The Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) Adaptive Ecosystem Climatology (AEC) integrates in situ earth observations, satellite data, and ocean model output to generate daily summaries of ocean climate conditions for the U.S. East and West Coast and the Gulf of Mexico. This dataset also combines physical oceanographic data (e.g.current and temperature) with biological data (chlorophyll concentrations and plankton population estimates). It is a flexible eco-forecasting tool designed to inform decision-making for conservation and natural resource management. The AEC can be used to examine mean conditions, analyze available observations, and provide input data/boundary conditions for many types of models.
Products
See the About tab for product details and specifications.
| Product | Grid/Scale | POR | Model Cycle | Output Time Step | Access |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gulf of Mexico Model-based climatology | 1/25° | 1 year climatology | 1 day | 1 day | |
| Gulf of Mexico Satellite-based climatology | 1/100° | 1 year climatology | 1 day | 1 day | |
| US East Coast Satellite-based climatology | 1/77° | 1 year climatology | 1 day | 1 day | |
| US West Coast Satellite-based climatology | 1/78° | 1 year climatology | 1 day | 1 day |
Product Details
The AEC incorporates three-dimensional, dynamically balanced, gridded, static climatologies for each calendar day. Using the static climatology as a background “first guess,” recent observations (satellite or in situ) are assimilated to adjust the climatology toward current conditions to provide updated, representative fields (adaptive climatology).
Each calendar day in the climatology represents a 5-day rolling average centered on that day, with data from all 11 years included. Thus, the value at each pixel represents the average of up to 55 different data values.
Satellite Climatology
Details
- Time Frame:
- 2003-2013
- Processing Resolution:
- 1-km
- File Format:
- NetCDF
VARIABLES
- Chlorophyll Concentration
- Sea Surface Temperature
Input Data
Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) level-1 data
Model Based Climatology
Details
- Description:
- Coupled biophysical ocean model
- Time-Frame:
- 33-year simulation (1980–2012)
- Resolution:
- 4-km
- File Format:
- NetCDF
Variables
- Sea Surface Elevation
- Ocean Temperature
- Salinity
- Eastward and Northward Currents
- Phytoplankton
- Diatoms
- Micro-zooplankton
- Meso-zooplankton
Input Data
- Hydrodynamics:
- Navy Coastal Ocean Model (NCOM) hydrodynamics
- Marine Biochemistry:
- Carbon Silicate Nitrogen Ecosystem (COSINE)
- Satellite Sea Surface Temperature (SST):
- Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR)
Boundary Conditions
- 1/8° Global NCOM
- Atmospheric fluxes prescribed by NASA’s Modern Era Retrospective-Analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA)
