For the past several years, a number of research programs have funded significant efforts to advance understanding of and forecasting capabilities for the Gulf of Mexico circulation, including the Loop Current, its associated eddies, and abyssal dynamics. One such program is the National Academies’ Understanding Gulf Ocean Systems initiative, which focuses on improving forecasts of the physical dynamics of the open Gulf of Mexico in space and time scales useful for the reduction of risks to offshore energy exploration and production, as well as for other challenges such as forecasting hurricane intensification and managing fisheries. What has been learned, how can this scientific progress be incorporated into operational models, and what are the remaining gaps in knowledge impeding predictive skill?
The goals of this special issue are to discuss the most recent understanding of dynamical processes governing the Gulf of Mexico ocean dynamics, advances in prediction, as well as the application of those advances towards societal benefit for Gulf Coast communities.
This Research Topic invites contributions of original research papers focused on the Gulf of Mexico with themes: mesoscale circulation (including Loop Current and eddy dynamics), abyssal circulation, upper-deep layer coupling, shelf circulation and cross-shelf exchange processes, ocean forecasting, modeling advances, observational studies, and applications of Gulf of Mexico models to fields outside of physical oceanography (e.g., fisheries, hurricane forecasting, etc.).
For the past several years, a number of research programs have funded significant efforts to advance understanding of and forecasting capabilities for the Gulf of Mexico circulation, including the Loop Current, its associated eddies, and abyssal dynamics. One such program is the National Academies’ Understanding Gulf Ocean Systems initiative, which focuses on improving forecasts of the physical dynamics of the open Gulf of Mexico in space and time scales useful for the reduction of risks to offshore energy exploration and production, as well as for other challenges such as forecasting hurricane intensification and managing fisheries. What has been learned, how can this scientific progress be incorporated into operational models, and what are the remaining gaps in knowledge impeding predictive skill?
The goals of this special issue are to discuss the most recent understanding of dynamical processes governing the Gulf of Mexico ocean dynamics, advances in prediction, as well as the application of those advances towards societal benefit for Gulf Coast communities.
This Research Topic invites contributions of original research papers focused on the Gulf of Mexico with themes: mesoscale circulation (including Loop Current and eddy dynamics), abyssal circulation, upper-deep layer coupling, shelf circulation and cross-shelf exchange processes, ocean forecasting, modeling advances, observational studies, and applications of Gulf of Mexico models to fields outside of physical oceanography (e.g., fisheries, hurricane forecasting, etc.).