About the GANDALF model layers

HYCOM Overview

The HYCOM layer is sourced from https://wms.hycom.org/thredds/wms/GLBy0.08/latest

The HYCOM consortium is a multi-institutional effort sponsored by the National Ocean Partnership Program (NOPP), as part of the U. S. Global Ocean Data Assimilation Experiment (GODAE), to develop and evaluate a data-assimilative hybrid isopycnal-sigma-pressure (generalized) coordinate ocean model (called HYbrid Coordinate Ocean Model or HYCOM). The GODAE objectives of three-dimensional depiction of the ocean state at fine resolution in real time, provision of boundary conditions for coastal and regional models, and provision of oceanic boundary conditions for a global coupled ocean-atmosphere prediction model, are being addressed by a partnership of institutions that represent a broad spectrum of the oceanographic community.

AOML Geostrophic Overview

The AOML layer is sourced from https://cwcgom.aoml.noaa.gov/thredds/wms/OCEAN_GEOSTROPHIC_CURRENTS/CURRENTS.nc

The products in this layer were created using altimetry observations and include fields of geostrophic currents, sea height anomaly (SHA) and sea height (SH) for the Gulf of Mexico region. SHA data is obtained from a suit of different satellites.

Maps of sea level obtained from satellite altimetry measurements are used to derive surface ocean currents (top map). Higher values of sea level (oranges and reds) are associated with the Loop Current and warm eddies, while lower values are associated to colder features. Drifter trajectories (lines in the top map) are used as an independent measurement to better illustrate circulation features. Sea height anomaly maps show the difference of sea level from average conditions, while sea height maps show absolute values of the sea level. Decision makers, managers, and scientists use these products to determine the flow of the surface water in the Gulf of Mexico.