Modelling ocean surfaces

• Ocean - energy fluxes are dealt with by NEMO.
• Sea Ice - energy fluxes are dealt with by the Louvain-la-Neuve sea ice model LIM2 (sub-program of NEMO)

Seas immediately adjacent to coastlines are difficult for the oceanic models (NEMO) to analyse or forecast, so coastal areas are dealt with by FLake as if they were salty water lakes.  Heat, moisture and momentum fluxes are evaluated according to the proportion of the area of the grid box that is covered by open water defined by the Land-Sea Mask.  Where there is:

• more than 50% sea water cover then fluxes are dealt with by NEMO.   A mixture of land and ocean 'tiles' is not allowed, i.e. a grid box is considered either 100% land or 100% ocean.
• more than 50% water cover, but the bodies of water are classed as lakes (e.g. large estuaries), then the HTESSEL 'tile' is "lakes and coastal waters" and fluxes are evaluated by FLake.
• less than 50% water cover, then the HTESSEL 'tile' is "lakes and coastal waters" and fluxes are evaluated by FLake (as if it were a lake).