MFS - VOS Newsletter n.6, pag.1 July 2005

The Mediterranean Ships of Opportunity Program: MFSTEP

achievements

The MFSTEP Objectives The Project has improved the operational forecasting system for the Mediterranean Sea. It has been based upon three main components:

a) the Near Real Time Observing system; b) the numerical forecasting systems at

basin scale and for regional areas; c) the forecast products dissemination

and exploitation system. The problems solved were belonging to three major categories: 1) Technology developments, connected to the new instrumentation for NRT monitoring and the provision of NRT protocols for data dissemination, comprehensive of telecommunication technology and quality control procedures; 2) Scientific development, connected to the understanding of the sampling scheme for different measuring platforms, the design and implementation of data assimilation schemes for different spatial scales, the ecosystem modelling validation/calibration experiments at the basin and the coastal areas scale and the development of data assimilation techniques for biochemical data; 3) Exploitation developments, consisting of software interfaces between forecast products and oil spill modelling, general contaminant dispersion models, relocatable emergency systems, search and rescue models, and fish stock observing systems. In addition, the study of forecast economic value and impact has been carried out.

The VOS Component of MFSTEP

The MFS-VOS component of the Mediterranean operational observing system started in September 1999 and has provided 5702 temperature profiles up to December 2003. The data collection started in May 2004 in the framework of MFSTEP: up to June 2005, 2428 XBTs were launched in the Mediterranean. The position of the drops is shown in the figure below.

The MFS-VOS tracks have been: n. 1: Haifa – Messina (managed by IOLR, Israel; ship name: Britain Star) n. 2a: Barcelona - Arzew (managed by CEAB Blanes, Spain; ship name: Methane Arctic) n. 2b: Barcelona – Marsa El Brega (managed by CEAB Blanes, Spain; ship name: Annabella, Methane Polar) n. 3: Marseille-Tunis (managed by LOB La Seyne sur mer, France; ship name: Mont Ventoux) n. 4: Genova – Palermo (managed by CNR-ISMAR Lerici, with ENEA La Spezia, Italy; ship name: Excellent, La Superba, La Suprema) n. 6: Mersin – Ashdod / Alexandria-Rhodes (managed by IMS-METU, Turkey; ship name: Mehmet Kalkavan) n. 7: Limassol – P.Said and Limassol – Alexandia (managed by Oceanography

MFS - VOS Newsletter n.6, pag.2 July 2005

Centre, University of Cyprus, Cyprus; ship name: Princesa Marissa, Serenade, Celtic Ambassador, EAS) n. 8: Thessaloniki – Heraklion (managed by NMCR Anavyssos, Greece; ship name: Daedalos)

Other XBT profiles were collected using the Italian research vessel URANIA. In this way it was possible to cover also the: Alboran Sea, Algerian basin, South Adriatic, Tyrrhenian Sea and Algero-Provencal basin.

Data collection will continue along few selected tracks, on the base of XBT availability.

Data Collection and transmission in MFS-VOS

XBTs manufactured by Sippican Inc. have been used in the Mediterranean. The probes have temperature, but not pressure sensors. The depth is calculated by means of the IGOSS formula.

In order to use all the wire contained in the probe and cannister, the XBT management software settings were changed. In this way, using Deep Blue probes, data were collected down to the depth of about 900 m, instead of the nominal 760 m.

The Sippican cards used were MK12 or MK21. In two cases (CNR+ENEA and OC, University of Cyprus) industrial PCs were used.

A Sippican hand launcher was adopted.

Full resolution profiles were transmitted from the ships to MFS-VOS data center in La Spezia using Internet and GSM phones or cards. Unfortunately this technology allows the data transmission only in near coastal waters.

MFS - VOS Newsletter n.6, pag.3 July 2005

Quality Control Some XBT probes were selected from various batches and calibrated in the NURC (former Saclantc). During some ad hoc cruises, XBT and CTD data were compared. The quality control of the data includes the ‘end of profile check’ (when the XBT hits the sea floor), an automatic QC and a final visual check. The QC steps are the following ones: - end of profile check - position control* - gross range check* - elimination of spikes* - interpolation at 1 metre interval* - gaussian smoothing* - general malfunction control* - comparison with climatology* - visual check, confirming the validity of profiles and providing an overall consistency. The stars indicate the steps of the quality control performed automatically.

Data Access All data can be downloaded from the MFS-VOS web site residing in La Spezia (Italy). http://vosdata.santateresa.enea.it:54321/mfs/

Results The scientific exploitation of the MFS-VOS data has been only partially done. Data have shown the significant seasonal and interannual variability in the Mediterranean.

The The figure provides an example of MFS-VOS products, in this case a temperature transect from Haifa (Israel) to Messina (Italy). Some comparisons with regional models (e.g. the Sicily Channel model) have been done. Ships Participating to the MFSTEP –

VOS program. The MFS-VOS is strongly indebted with ship companies, that hosted technical personnel on vessels to carry out the XBT measurements. The following ship companies (and vessels) have participated to the MFSTEP – VOS cruises: ZIM (Israel), Britain Star

MFS - VOS Newsletter n.6, pag.4 July 2005

Chemicalien Seetransport/Osprey (Spain), Methane Arctic, Methane Polar, Annabella

Delom (France), Mont Ventoux

Grandi Navi Veloci (Italy), Excellent, La Suprema, La Superba

Minoan (Greece), Daedalus

Louis (Cyprus), Princesa Marissa, Serenade, Celtic Ambassador, EAS

Turkom (Turkey), Mehmet Kalkavan

CNR (Italy), Urania

New Improvements in Data Transmission: Globalstar

From the end of the MFS Pilot Project, the data have been transmitted by using GSM Internet communications. This system allowed us to transmitt full resolution profiles, but only where the signal GSM was present

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(coastal areas). During the Urania cruises, full resolution XBT profiles have been transmitted by using the GLOBALSTAR satellite communication system and internet access from GLOBALSTAR (9.6 Kbps).

We have used the Globalstar QUALCOMM GSP-1600 Tri-Mode satellite phone, that is combining the functionality of cellular service with the use -anywhere convenience of a satellite phone - all in a single, handheld unit. Flipping up the satellite antenna the connection to the Globalstar constellation of 48 low-earthorbit (LEO) satellites is obtained. The GSP-1600 also comes with a built-in modem for connections to the Internet or private data networks. When connected to a PC or personal digital assistant (PDA), the GSP-1600 allows either asynchronous or packet data links for e-mail, web browsing or other data applications. The GLOBALSTAR Internet communication has assured the transmission of data also in open sea.

The MFS-VOS Group The MFS-VOS program is including the following activities: data collection, data management and technological development. Data Collection : CNR ISMAR BO (Italy): Giovanni Bortoluzzi; CNR ISMAR SP (Italy): Domenico Bacciola, Mireno Borghini, Ferdinando Dell’Amico, Carlo Galli, Egisto Lazzoni; CNRS LOB COM (France): Thierry Gervais, Claude Millot; CSIC CEAB (Spain): Miguel Angel Ahumeda, Raffaele Bernardello, Ramon Coma, Antonio Cruzado, Zoila Velasquez; ENEA (Italy): Massimo Morgigni; HCMR (Greece): Vassilis Papadopoulos, Christos Tziavos; IOLR (Israel): Isaac Gertman, Boris Kacenelson, Alexey Murashkovsky, Fritzi Ramot, Lazar Raskin; METU IMS (Turkey): Emin Oszoy; OC University Cyprus (Cyprus): Marinos Ioannou, Sotiris Savva, George Zodiatis; Technological Development: CNR IAMC ME (Italy): Giuseppe Zappalà; ENEA (Italy): Antonio Baldi, Fabio Conte; Università Tuscia (Italy): Marco Marcelli; Data Management: ENEA (Italy): Franco Reseghetti; System Integrator: ENEA (Italy): Fabrizio Paolucci;

MFS - VOS Newsletter n.6, pag.6 July 2005

Coordination of MFS-VOS: ENEA (Italy): Giuseppe M.R. Manzella.

The MFS-VOS data collection (before MFSTEP)

MFSPP – VOS (1999 – 2000)

ADRICOSM – VOS (2001 – 2003)

The number of XBTs launched in the framework of MFS-VOS per semestre (from second half of 1999 to first half of 2005) is shown in the figure below.

For information on MFSTEP project: http://www.bo.ingv.it/mfstep/ Access to MFS-VOS real time data: http://vosdata.santateresa.enea.it:54321/mfs/

MFSTEP is a project supported by the European Commission, contract EVK3 – CT – 2002 – 00075