S9.2.2 - Ecosystem health in the North Sea

This application demonstrate model based assessments of algal bloom activity in the NW European shelf seas (including harmful algal blooms) and prepare demonstration products for web based dissemination. Application of dissolved oxygen “nowcast” information to coastal fish farming will also be developed and demonstrated. The system will provide information for evidence based decision making to help reduce uncertainty in the status assessments of ecosystem health in the North Sea, including assessment of the status of the OSPAR indicators including dissolved oxygen concentration, and will provide demonstration of the larger-scale ecosystem health indicators application to coastal aquaculture.

The existing services is a consolidated toward EuroDESS application and include

• the POLCOMs-ERSEM MRCS model nowcasts running at the UK Met Office

• The CEFAS SMART monitoring buoys in the North Sea

• The NIVA Norwegian ferry-box monitoring.

• The MRCS model five-day forecasts .

Interviews conducted with users and experts to find out what requirements are for this applications. The following quantities were found to be most important

• Temperature, salinity and chlorophyll most important.
• Waves, wind and currents also useful.

• Surface and bottom fields and anomalies, surface-bottom difference.

• Time series.

• Daily for ecosystem health, past data plus five day forecast where available.

1. Whole MRCS domain fine for Ecosystem Health – DESS provides full flexibility for region and zoom

• 6km model resolution adequate for many applications but maybe insufficient for very-near-coast applications.

The system will contain the following information

• Ecosystem information from Met Office Medium Resolution Continental Shelf - European Regional Seas Ecosystem Model (MRCS-ERSEM), plus near real time ecosystem observations (Smartbuoys, Ferrybox, coastal monitoring stations, others)
• Forecast and hindcast information from model and observations, plus model quality assessment by comparison

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