Operational forecasting

In the last ten years, the Climate Laboratory has developed models for the forecasting of the marine circulation and of the sea state. The models support the management of the marine environment and of renewable energy sources, and, more generally, the planning aimed at a sustainable development of the activities related to the exploitation of coastal areas. Their operational use has also allowed for the construction of circulation databases, used for the study of physical and biological processes.

Modellistica di circolazione operativa del Mar Mediterraneo – MITO-

Il laboratorio CLIM ha sviluppato un sistema operativo per la previsione della circolazione del Mar Mediterraneo e del mar Nero, basato su un modello numerico tridimensionale della circolazione marina (MITgcm) estremamente innovativo che include i principali effetti delle maree, sia prodotti da forzanti locali che provenienti dall’Atlantico. Oltre all’inclusione degli effetti della marea, il modello previsionale ha altre caratteristiche fortemente innovative, tra cui l’alta risoluzione spaziale, con un dettaglio orizzontale di 1/48° (circa 2 km) - due volte più` alto degli attuali modelli

Ocean energy

Systems for forecasting the sea state have been developed, and are currently in use. They cover the whole Mediterranean Sea, and, with finer spatial detail, some sub-basins of interest. These activities have allowed for the construction of a climatology of the wave energy potential for the Mediterranean Sea. The laboratory has also developed very high resolution numerical models to evaluate the energy associated with the intense tidal currents present in the Strait of Messina and Gibraltar.