First six month management report (March-August
2005)
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WP0:
Project management
Major Work package aims: |
Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission - IOC,
UNESCO |
Italian Ministry for the Environment and Territory
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1. |
Facilitating
contractual agreements at the start of Project; |
2. |
Defining
Project reporting mechanisms and scheduling meetings |
3. |
Preparing
a plan for the dissemination of project results and implement
it. |
Task
0.2: Project reporting and meetings
The
Project will produce six month management and scientific
reports. A kick-off meeting is foreseen as well as general
workshops between all Project participants. The technical
meetings needed in several Tasks will be coordinated
directly by each partners.
Responsible: UNESCO-IOC
Participants: All the partner Institutions
Duration: 0 - 30 months
Deliverable within 18 months: Kick-off
meeting, six months management reports, final scientific
report for the first 18 months, technical meeting reports
NIB.MBS
NIB.MBS will participate at the opening meetings, delivering
management reports every six months, together with the
final scientific report. NIB.MBS will also write and
co-write reports regarding technical meetings in which
it will take part. |
WP1: Enhancement of ADRICOSM observational
and modeling network
Major
Work package aims:
1. |
Insert
the entering countries with an active role in ADRICOSM
observational and modeling activities; |
2. |
Continue
and improve the satellite data analysis system for SST,
color and scatterometer winds; |
3. |
Continuation
and improvement of the VOS XBT monitoring system; |
4. |
Collect
hydrological seasonal data sets in entering countries
coastal areas; |
5. |
Add
new physical and key biochemical observations in established
ADRICOSM coastal areas for training purposes; |
6. |
Atmospheric
forcing studies to increase the ocean forecast reliability |
7. |
Continuation
of the ADRICOSM forecasting activities |
Task
1.5 Introduction of new measurements in existing observational
areas for training purposes
Subtask
1.5.1: Add new ADCP on board of two of the four major
ADRICOSM CTD network vessels.
A
new VM-ADCP system for a 10-25 m long ship to be used
in shallow waters (10-50 m) will be implemented in two
of the four ADRICOSM coastal areas networks and new
entry partners will be participating to enforce training
for future implementations in other coastal areas.
Small ships roll is large, compromising therefore ADCP
data quality. The problems related to the installation
of such device on each of the five ADRICOSM ships involved
in the coastal areas networks will be assessed and the
necessary developments carried out.
After the initial problem assessment phase the combined
collection of CTD and ADCP data will be carried out
at monthly time scales in the four traditional CTD coastal
monitoring networks of ADRICOSM.
Responsible: OGS
Participants: UNESCO-IOC, ARPA.Daphne,
NIB.MBS, RBI.CMR, IOF, HEIS, UNIBE, IBM, IE
Duration: 0-18 months
Deliverable within 18 months: installation
and test of the system; training courses on ADCP monitoring.
CTD and ADCP data collection
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| Fig.
1. ADCP cruise tracks (red line) between the lighthouses
(blue dots) at the southern (Piran, Slovenia) and
the northern (Grado, Italy) sides of the Gulf of
Trieste. Rectangles represent CTD stations at which
LBM performed vertical CTD profiles during the 25
h ACDP cruise. |
NIB.MBS
NIB.MBS
planned and organized three ADCP and CTD cruises to
evaluate
currents and the density field at the entrance of the
Gulf of Trieste. Cruise campaigns were conducted with
a vessel 12 m in length during clement weather (sea
state less than three). Cruises at the entrance of the
Gulf were performed by crossing the Gulf along the idealized
line that connects the lighthouse of Piran (450 31.802'
N, 130 33.803' E) at the southern part of the Gulf,
with the lighthouse of Grado (450 39.345' N, 130 26.305'
E) at the northern part. The distance between these
two points is around 18.4 km (Fig. 1) .
The vessel of NIB.MBS moved with a fixed bearing and
a speed of six knots. During the cruises, the current-meter
of the Nortek AS company (NDP 500 kHz instrument) was
mounted at the bow of the vessel, recording currents
along straight tracks of the vessel. The vertical dimension
of the cells with data of currents is 1 m. While the
vessel of NIB.MBS was routing from one lighthouse to
another for a period of 25 hours, Italian partners from
LBM in Trieste performed CTD measurements (conductivity,
temperature and salinity) at 18 locations. Six of the
CTD locations lay along an idealized line, each 1.8
nautical mile (nm) apart. Twelve other points were divided
into two groups, six on each side of the idealized line.
These stations were again separated by 1.8 nm intervals
along each row of station and at a distance of 0.9 nm
from the idealized line. CTD cruises were performed
twice during the 25 hour ADCP cruise, in the morning
of the first day and in the morning of the following
day. Cruises were performed according to the following
schedule: |
- The
first 24 hour cruise was conducted on 08 October 2004,
when a typical autumn situation was captured. There
was an outflow along the Italian coastline and an
inflow near the floor along the Slovenian coastline.
However, there was also an outflow near the Slovenian
coastline through most of the water column, and an
inflow at the central part of the entrance to the
Gulf. This structure of the inflow/outflow was well
in accordance with the results of the numerical model
ACOAST-1.2., with which the climatic circulation of
the Gulf was studied. First estimates showed that
ADCP measurements at the southern side of the Gulf
were also in agreement with the measurements that
were recorded with a coastal buoy, 2.1 nm offshore
Piran in the direction of Grado.
-
The second cruise was undertaken on 07 March 2005,
in a typical winter situation (averaged temperature
of the sea was around 8°C). Technical difficulties
during the survey were experienced this time: the
timings between the ADCP and DGPS compass were not
synchronized. Nevertheless, we managed to obtain 20
cruise tracks and all data were successfully calibrated
by the Nortek NDP software.
-
On 13 June 2005, an ADCP cruise was partially undertaken
(2 routes). After a few hours of work, a strong sirocco
wind was encountered, raising waves of peak-to-peak
range between 1.0-1.5 m. It was impossible to continue
the survey.
-
A fourth cruise was undertaken on 29 June 2005. Again,
problems with the weather were experienced –
in the middle of the survey, a summer storm passed
over the cruise track. The vessel was harbored twice
until conditions on the sea stabilized, the survey
being discontinued twice for a few hours. Nevertheless,
16 cruise tracks were accomplished during 25 h, together
with a complete set of CTD data.
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Overall,
three 25 h ADCP cruises with CTD data were successfully completed.
In addition, valuable velocity data were collected during
a strong sirocco wind.
After
the data files were collected by the ADCP, they were examined
in order to filter out erroneous data due to poor signal strength,
shorted range, and bad SNR. Nortek AS software was applied
for this purpose. Before exporting the data files from a binary
format to ASCII, a calibration of the position data with the
DGPS-compass device was performed and the data were averaged
in intervals (every 10 minutes). In this way, the data were
ready to be surveyed with text editor. ‘Matlab’
software was applied for the data analysis and ‘Surfer’
(Golden Software company) software for plotting currents on
a vertical plane from Grado to Piran. Current-meter data analysis
is divided in four steps:
1. |
Each
cruise track deviates more or less from the idealized
line (almost never for more than 100 m). Therefore, each
track was projected along the idealized line, along which
joint points of all cruises are defined, in order to unify
tracks for the analysis. This means that currents (Northern
and Eastern components) from all routes (depending on
the cruise) are projected on the idealized route for each
route separately. |
2. |
The
topography along the idealized line is obtained by recording
cell numbers of the peak of the signal strength (meaning
the sea-floor) of the data that were averaged over a horizontal
distance of 250 meters. Two cells (corresponding to 2
m depth) near the floor were subtracted in order to remove
the data in cells that were ‘polluted’ by
the reflection of the signal near the bottom. Then a minimum
of two neighboring points around the joint point was chosen
for the depth at that point for a single track. The minima
of these values of all tracks (about 18 of them during
a 25 h cruise) at joint points served as depth values
of all tracks. This topography profile was used to limit
the number of cells along the idealized track and to blank
graphs in Surfer when plots of different routes were made. |
3. |
The
average velocity (Eastern and Northern components) with
the standard deviation was calculated for all tracks of
one field campaign, for each cell of a length of 250 m
and height of 1 m that lay in a vertical plane along the
idealized line. Fluctuating velocities were calculated
by subtracting average values. These will be analyzed
with the harmonic least-squares method in order to subtract
the periodic signal of tides (and inertial signal) |
4. |
From
the CTD data (conductivity and salinity), geostrophic
currents will be calculated in order to compare them with
the average currents of ADCP measurements and to estimate
ageostrophic components, after tides are removed from
the fluctuating part of velocities. |
Subtask
1.5.3: Po river Buoy station
Actually, the Po river Buoy station (figure 1) measures meteorological
(wind speed, wind gust and wind direction, air temperature,
air pressure, relative humidity and net solar radiation),
oceanographic (current speed and 2D current direction) and
physic-chemical parameters (water conductivity, temperature,
pH, redox, dissolved oxygen, chlorophyll ? and turbidity)
at one hour intervals of data acquisition within the first
meter water depth.
Responsible:
CNR.ISMAR-IGM
Participants: NIB.MBS, IE
Duration: 0 – 18 months
Deliverable within 18 months: set up of the
new sensors, excursions for platform maintenance training.
NIB.MBS
NIB.MBS will participate in this subtask as an experienced
partner as operators of the Coastal Oceanographic Station
Piran (COSP), a dominant part of which is the coastal buoy
(http://buoy.mbss.org).
It has been operating continuously since 2002, except during
periods of annual maintenance (7-14 days a year). The configuration
of sensors at the buoy is similar to the one at the Po river
buoy (ADCP at the sea-floor, CTD probe at a depth of 2 m,
acoustic anemometer at a height of 5 m above sea-level, together
with sensors for air temperature and humidity). Here a compass/tilt
sensor with GPS receiver is located (Fig. 2).
The instantaneous data of wind and compass, which are received
on land, are sampled at intervals of 0.25 s. The data-logger
was developed by local experts retrieving data from all sensors,
transmitting them via radio link every half hour to the land
station at MBS, 5 km from the buoy. At the receiving station,
data post-processing with quality control checks is performed
on the instantaneous data and on the averaged data, stored
in a relational data-base, sent to the web server to update
graphs and at the same time, also sent to the Slovenian Agency
for the Environment which covers half of the costs for the
maintenance. Currently, the new data logger is under development,
which will be designed on the basis of internet technology
(the buoy will be an intranet node). During the annual maintenance
of the buoy, which will take place in September-October 2005,
this new data-logger will replace the old one. A new ADCP
of the Nortek-AS company (AWAC), which will also measure surface
waves, will replace the old one. If the new INTERREG project
is accepted, a new coastal buoy will be constructed and a
system of underwater video monitoring for periodic underwater
snapshots will be designed and installed.
NIB.MBS
will participate at meetings related to this subtask and will
write the relevant reports. We will also propose a data exchange
with the Po river buoy station.
WP3:
Data Management system
Major
aims:
1. |
Implement
and develop an efficient data management system for Real
Time and historical data sets in the Adriatic; |
2. |
Organize
an Adriatic data management network with expert coastal
data centers; |
3. |
Data
rescue for physical and biochemical parameters in new
coastal areas of interest; |
4. |
Develop
quality control procedures for coastal and open ocean
historical data sets of the region; |
5. |
Development
of GIS for coastal areas; |
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| Fig.
2. Coastal buoy of the Coastal Oceanographic
Station Piran. |
Task
3.1 Organisation of NRT data management system for
the whole Adriatic Sea
- This
activity will foresee the collaboration of all the
Institutions involved in data collection in coastal
areas (Daphne, LBM, NIB, IOF) and the institutions
involved in data management (ENEA and OGS).
Responsible: ENEA.CRAM
Participants: UNIBO.CIRSA, ARPA-Daphne,
LBM.TS, OGS, NIB.MBS
Duration: 0 – 18 months
Deliverable within 18 months: data
quality control procedures, data dissemination protocols
NIB.MBS
NIB.MBS
was active in defining the sampling protocol, quality
check of the CTD data and data export in the reduced
MedAtlas format. Together with a partner institute
LBM in Trieste, we set up a common data base which
has been operating since 1991, analyzing data with
the objective interpolation method. Joint field operations
over the Gulf of Trieste will be continued as much
as possible. Presently, we are jointly constructing
the database for the local climatology of the Gulf
and making the trend analysis of its changes. We will
also play an active role in this subtask.
- Task
3.2 Organisation of a delayed mode data archiving
system for the Adriatic Sea
Creation of a biological meta data base of the Adriatic
Sea
Concerning the creation of a biological meta data
base of the Adriatic Sea the goal will be the preparation
and merge in a biological meta data base of all historical
plankton data set that have been collected over the
Northern Adriatic during joined research/monitoring
projects over the last decades, including the available
eastern countries’ data sets.
Responsible: OGS
Participants: ENEA.CRAM, LBM.TS,
NIB.MBS, RBI.CMR, IOF
Duration: 0-18 months
Deliverable within 18 months: General
inventory of available data in selected Adriatic Sea
coastal areas; preliminary procedure for data formatting
and validation.
NIB.MBS
NIB.MBS acts as the National Oceanographic Data Centre
(NODC) in Slovenia and as such is updating several
data banks. One is related to data received from the
coastal buoy, another to CTD data collected during
cruises with a research vessel, and a third data base
is related to chemical parameters (nutrient compounds,
oxygen, BOD, etc.) resulting from analysis of the
water samples.
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WP4: Training and outreach
It
is intended that all Partners in the Project will be Participants
to these Tasks.
Task
4.1: Workshops and seminars in the field of operational forecasting,
ICZM, monitoring, modelling and data assimilation
On the basis of UNESCO-IOC activities ICM and GOOS two workshops
will be organized with external expertise to discuss state
of the art projects and studies on the subjects.
Responsible: UNESCO-IOC
Duration: 0-18 months
Deliverable within 18 months: First Workshop
organized
Task
4.2: Mapping techniques for coastal data sets
Mapping of climatology in the Adriatic and ADRICOSM coastal
areas techniques will be described and these techniques will
be the arguments of training period for new entry partners.
Responsible: UNIBO-CIRSA
Duration: 0-18 months
Deliverable within 18 months: training course
on mapping techniques
Task
4.3: Training course for data management
Training courses for historical and real time data management
will be organized.
Responsible: UNESCO-IOC
Duration: 0-18 months
Deliverable within 18 months: training course
organized
Task
4.4: Meteo-marine station data management
The work will be organized in the following way:
-
Training
programs concerning the management of the meteo-marine
station;
-
Training programs concerning the data collection, management
and networking;
-
Visiting programs concerning technical visits to meteo-marine
stations, informatics and telematic centers
-
Stages to be activated at Italian technical organizations.
Responsible:
APAT
Duration: 0-18 months
Deliverable within 18 months: training course
organized, visits, stages, learning documentation
Task
4.5 Training in ICSS
The scientific and technical training courses and workshops
will deal with the following topics:
-
Modelling of sewer system with MOUSE
-
Modelling of river basin with MIKE11
-
Flow, WQ and rain survey in the integrated system
-
Performance analysis - evaluation of results
Responsible:
SGI
Duration: 10-18 months
Deliverable within 18 months: Training courses
and workshop.
NIB.MBS
NIB.MBS
will participate in workshops, organized by IOC-UNESCO
and other partners in the project as much as possible (Tasks
4.1-4.5). We will also take an active part in Tasks 4.2 and
4.3, together with LBM
in Trieste.
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