Analysis of physical ocean parameters obtained through the MyOcean marine core service

Abstract

Oceanography is the study of the oceans, as a unified dynamic medium. With the use of technology and engineering, the oceans can be investigated from a chemical, geological, biological and physical aspect. Physical oceanography describes the circulation of fluid together with its properties such as temperature and salinity. The scope of this dissertation is to analyse physical ocean parameters (sea surface temperature, salinity and currents) obtained through numerical models and satellite observations from the Copernicus MyOcean Marine Core Service. Global numerical hydrodynamical forecasts are compared with each other as well as with other high-resolution models that are run over a local shelf-scale. Field measurements of temperature, salinity and currents in a specific location were collected and together with satellite data, were used to compare the numerical models with true values. Apart from validating the numerical models, such an analysis enables a better understanding of the physical ocean parameters around the Maltese Islands. In particular, a coastal area in the South West of Malta is studied. The analysis is carried out through an analysis of time series plots. The errors between data products is quantified after computing correlation coefficients between predicted and observed variables. Temperature and salinity profiles, together with current data are obtained through the use of Conductivity, Temperature and Depth (CTD) profiles as well as from the deployment of drifters.