FVCOM
The Finite Volume Community Ocean Model (FVCOM) provides 3D simulations of the ocean's physical properties (e.g. currents, stratification, salinity, temperature). The ability of FVCOM to accurately solve hydrodynamic equations coupled with the topological flexibility provided by unstructured meshes makes FVCOM ideally suited for coastal and interdisciplinary applications. It is able to connect regional scale climate drivers with local scale responses, at scales down to a few metres.
At PML, we use this model to both investigate how changes in climate, land use and energy extraction impact the physical behaviour of the ocean as well as how those changes impact the ocean's ecosystems. We have explored how the introduction of offshore wind farms impacts the tides and stratification of the north-west European continental shelf. Similarly, how the behaviour of birds is impacted by tidal turbines in a highly energetic environment (the Orkneys) has been analysed with FVCOM outputs.
Most recently, we have been using FVCOM, in conjunction with ShellSIM and ERSEM, to investigate how changes in aquaculture practice might impact shelf seas. FVCOM is also being used at PML to investigate how microplastics accumulate in coastal seas and to try to identify possible vectors by which microplastics make their way from land and end up inside zooplankton.
Finally, FVCOM is part of the STEMM-CCS project investigating how carbon sequestration and storage might impact shelf sea ecosystems.
Related publications
- Cazenave PW, Torres R and Allen JI. 2016. Unstructured grid modelling of offshore wind farm impacts on seasonally stratified shelf seas, Progress in Oceanography, Volume 145, Pages 25–41, doi:10.1016/j.pocean.2016.04.004
- Waggitt JJ, Cazenave PW, Torres R, Williamson BJ, Scott BE. 2016. Predictable hydrodynamic conditions explain temporal variations in the density of benthic foraging seabirds in a tidal stream environment. ICES Journal of Marine Science: Journal du Conseil fsw100. Doi:10.1093/icesjms/fsw100
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- Waggitt JJ, Cazenave PW, Torres R, Williamson BJ, Scott BE. 2016. Quantifying pursuit-diving seabirds’ associations with fine-scale physical features in tidal stream environments. Journal of Applied Ecology. doi: 10.1111/1365-2664.12646
- Blackford JC, Torres R, Cazanave P, Artioli Y. 2013. Modelling Dispersion of CO2 Plumes in Sea Water as an Aid to Monitoring and Understanding Ecological Impact, Energy Procedia, Volume 37, 2013, Pages 3379-3386, ISSN 1876-6102,
- Torres R and Uncles R. 2011. Modelling of Estuarine and Coastal Waters. In Treatise on Estuarine and Coastal Sciences. Ed. E. Wolanski and D.S. McLusky, Waltham: Ac. Press. V. 2, 395-427.
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Further details about FVCOMRegister for FVCOM code