Assimilation of altimetric and sea-surface temperature data in an ocean model for fisheries studies in upwelling areas

A project is undergoing at the Joint Research Centre of the European Commis sion (JRC-EC) in the Marine Environment unit of the Space Applications Inst itute (SAI/ME) to assimilate altimetric and sea-surface temperature data in a primitive equation model using a four-dimensional variational assimilati on scheme. The aim is to obtain a description of the dynamics in upwelling areas, to be used for studying the relations between the evolution of the f isheries and the underlying flow in those areas. After a description of the hydrodynamic model, with emphasis on those aspec ts that make it suitable for assimilating data in upwelling coastal areas, the planned strategy for the assimilation of sea-surface height and sea-sur face temperature data is presented. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All righ ts reserved.