EROS 2000

The main objective of the project was the regional modelling of the Western Mediterranean, with emphasis on hydrodynamical processes and their coupling with an integrated model of biogeochemical fluxes.
The main objectives of the project had an emphasis on the regional integration, remote sensing and modelling subproject. The aims of the subproject consist essentially in the development and the use of direct and inverse models of the Western Mediterranean hydrodynamics, the coupling of a biological model with mixed layer turbulent closure model, and a preliminary modelling attempt of the 3-dimensional suspended sediments dynamics in the Gulf of Lions.
The planned work included the use of the GHER 3D model developed at the University of Liege to study the general circulation in the Western Mediterranean and its seasonal variability. The outputs of the hydrodynamic model provided the basis for an enhanced understanding of the physics of the system, and served as the essential framework for an integrated model of the biogeochemical fluxes. The investigations took into account the field data collected during the RV Marion Dufresne cruise in the North Western Mediterranean during the period April-May 1990 at the end of the first phase of the EROS 2000 project. Special attention was focused on the impact of the exceptional meteorological conditions encountered during the Cybele cruise (very strong winds) on the transfer of mass and energy to the deep Mediterranean waters.