Implementation and validation of a new operational wave forecasting system of the Mediterranean Monitoring and Forecasting Centre in the framework of the Copernicus  Marine Environment Monitoring Service

Ravdas, Michalis; Zacharioudaki, Anna; Korres, Gerasimos

doi:https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-18-2675-2018

Articles | Volume 18, issue 10

https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-18-2675-2018

© Author(s) 2018. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-18-2675-2018

© Author(s) 2018. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 18, issue 10

Research article

|

22 Oct 2018

Research article |

| 22 Oct 2018

Implementation and validation of a new operational wave forecasting system of the Mediterranean Monitoring and Forecasting Centre in the framework of the Copernicus Marine Environment Monitoring Service

Michalis Ravdas, Anna Zacharioudaki, and Gerasimos Korres

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Final revised paper (published on 22 Oct 2018)
Preprint (discussion started on 01 Feb 2018)

Interactive discussion

Status: closed

AC: Author comment | RC: Referee comment | SC: Short comment | EC: Editor comment

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- Supplement

RC1: 'review of the CMEMS wave forecasting system for the Mediterranean Sea', Jean-Raymond Bidlot, 22 Feb 2018
- AC1: 'Reply to RC-1', ANNA ZACHARIOUDAKI, 15 May 2018
RC2: 'Referee Comments', Anonymous Referee #2, 03 Apr 2018
- AC2: 'Reply to RC-2', ANNA ZACHARIOUDAKI, 15 May 2018
AC3: 'Revised manuscript', ANNA ZACHARIOUDAKI, 16 May 2018

Peer-review completion

AR: Author's response | RR: Referee report | ED: Editor decision

ED: Reconsider after major revisions (further review by editor and referees) (02 Jun 2018) by Piero Lionello

AR by ANNA ZACHARIOUDAKI on behalf of the Authors (14 Jun 2018) Author's response Manuscript

ED: Referee Nomination & Report Request started (21 Jul 2018) by Piero Lionello

RR by Anonymous Referee #2 (03 Aug 2018)

RR by Anonymous Referee #1 (05 Aug 2018)

Suggestions for revision or reasons for rejection

The paper demonstrate the quality of the wave modelling system and its weakness.
I have the following corrections/update

page 3, line 23: note that the operational ECMWF 10 km uncoupled wave model has been using surface currents for years. These currents were originally provided by the Norwegian TOPAZ system, which is now part of CMEMS (Bidlot, private communication)

page 6: it is worth noting that following the decision at its June 2018 council, ECMWF can make its high resolution (HRES) forecasts available every hourly (from 3-hourly) up to forecast step 90 hour.

Also note and comment in the conclusion, that the resolution of ECMWF HRES in 2004 was 16km, but since spring 2016, it is now 9km

page 10, line 3,
long term validation of operational wave forecasts from global operational centres, has also nicely demonstrated, the difficulty of representing waves in enclosed areas, See
https://www.ecmwf.int/en/newsletter/150/meteorology/twenty-one-years-wave-forecast-verification

refer also, to the newly published white paper "wave modelling coastal inner seas
https://owncloud.ve.ismar.cnr.it/owncloud/index.php/s/0nIEW6wJXvkgAar

Cavaleri et al, 2018. Wave modelling in coastal and inner seas, PIO,
pp.1-70.

page 17:
it is now official, since June 5 2018, ECMWF High Resolution system (the one used by CMEMS) is a fully coupled atmosphere-waves-ocean-sea ice system
see for instance
https://www.ecmwf.int/en/elibrary/18491-newsletter-no-156-summer-2018

Please revise your conclusions to indicate that major progress has been made since 2004 by ECMWF, and other major NWP centres, insofar as resolutions, both spatial and temporal, and in modelling relevant exchange progresses.

Minor corrections:
p2, line 18: Forecast (ECMWF) -> Forecasts (ECMWF)
provides since 1992 -> has been providing since 1992

p7, line 7: Stokes drift -> surface Stokes drift (?)

p10, line 1: more close -> closer

Table 7 : bias(m) -> bias (s)

Figure 11: BIAS(m) -> BIAS(m/s) for wind and BIAS(s) for period

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ED: Publish subject to minor revisions (review by editor) (12 Aug 2018) by Piero Lionello

AR by ANNA ZACHARIOUDAKI on behalf of the Authors (13 Sep 2018) Author's response Manuscript

ED: Publish as is (25 Sep 2018) by Piero Lionello

AR by ANNA ZACHARIOUDAKI on behalf of the Authors (05 Oct 2018)

Short summary

A high-resolution operational wave forecasting system for the Mediterranean Sea has been developed within the framework of the Copernicus Marine Environment Monitoring Service, which provides open, cost-free, and quality-controlled products. The system accounts for waves arriving through the Straight of Gibraltar and for the effect of surface currents on waves. It provides accurate results over well-exposed locations and satisfactory results within enclosed basins and near the coast.