1. SSH CCI-product assessment

2. The RCSM4 coupled regional model
ALADIN-Climat V5
Regional climate model
(Colin et al., 2010)
Horizontal resolution 50km, 31 vertical levels
Spectral nudging (toward ERA-Interim reanalysis)
OASIS coupler
(Valcke, 2006)
NEMOMED8
Regional version of NEMO-V2
with filtered free surface (Madec, 2008)
Horizontal resolution 1/8°x1/8°cos(Φ), 43 vertical levels
An Atlantic buffer zone (3D T-S and SSH toward COMBINE reanalysis)
TRIP
River routeing model
(Oki and Sud, 1998; Decharme et al., 2010)
0.5° resolution of the river network

3. Time series of mean sea level anomalies averaged over the Mediterranean Sea for the period (m)
Results from the regional coupled model regional climate system model RCSM4 including a coupling of the atmosphere with the Mediterranean sea at about 10km resolution, constrained with ERA-Interim at its atmospheric boundaries and to an ocean reanalysis (COMBINE) over an Atlantic buffer zone (one curve with thermosteric effect integretated over 0-600m and one with integration over 0-bottom)
CCI-ECV-Sea level (Larnicol et al, 2012); AVISO ( SSALTO/DUACS Handbook, 2009); Two reconstructions from tide gauges and satelite altimetry (Calafat 2009 and Meyssignac 2010)

4. Seasonal cycle of mean sea level anomaly over the Mediterranean Sea over the period 1993-2010 (cm)
Averaged seasonal cycle of SSH averaged over the Mediterranean Sea and over the period (in cm). Results from the RCSM4 model (black) are compared with the two satellite products SSALTO/DUACS SSH (blue) and CCI SSH (green).

5. Trends of sea surface height anomalies over the period 1993-2010 (mm/yr)
Trends of SSH anomalies over the period (in mm/yr). Results from the RCSM4 model (top) are diagnosed from the free surface model calculation. They are compared with the two satellite products SSALTO/DUACS (middle) and SSH CCI SSH (bottom).

6. Sea Surface Height
CCI SSH product is suitable for regional climate studies over the Mediterranean basin, even at a scale of a few tens of kilometres.
The confrontation with the model lets some open questions concerning the way to facilitate the comparison between the models and the observations. There is the need for an “SSH observation simulator”, either at the global or at the regional scale.
There is the opportunity to evaluate consistency with other CCI products over the Mediterranean region taking advantage of the development of regional climate system models, of the MedCORDEX model intercomparison project and of the HyMEX experiment.

7. O3 CCI-products assessment

8. Histograms of total columns ozone cumulated in October 2008 (Dobson Units)% DU

9. Vertical profiles of zonal mean differences of ozone mixing ratios between NIWA and MERGED_LP (ppmv)

10. Histograms of total columns ozone cumulated in October 2008 (Dobson Units)% DU

11. Annual cycle over the year 2008 of monthly mean ozone mixing ratio averaged over 90S – 60S (ppmv)
3 hPa
10 hPa
50 hPa

12. Ozone
The development of ozone CCI-products can take advantage of a confrontation with the NIWA products that include in-situ observations.
The inclusion of IASI data in the CCI-products construction could be an added value.
The uncertainty range attributed to the CCI MERGED_LP product seems underestimated at upper level at least in some regions like near the 3hPa level.
The confrontation with model simulations confirms that the CCI ozone products are suitable for model intercomparison.