Ecosystem modeling: Towards the development of a management tool for a marine coastal system: Part I: General circulation, hydrological and dynamical structure

Abstract The semi-enclosed environment of Pagasitikos Gulf was the object of a holistic study during 1998–1999 following the appearance of mucilaginous events during summer. A major part of the INSEA project was the development and implementation of a coupled modeling system capable of reproducing all the major characteristics both in physical and biological environments. In the present work the hydrodynamic model based on the Princeton Ocean Model (POM) code is presented while the functioning of Pagasitikos Gulf is analyzed through the assessment of model results. Model results indicate intense seasonal variability with moderate flow patterns and substantial horizontal and vertical gradients. The main known climatological circulation features are found to be reproduced quite well by the model with a rich eddy field controlled by surface buoyancy and momentum fluxes. The ultimate goal is the development of a future operational forecasting system encompassing a detailed description of the ecosystem processes and advanced data assimilation techniques.