Regional Ocean Forecast System Model Output for U.S. East Coast

ROFS provides 48-hour forecasts of ocean conditions using the Princeton Ocean Model, a three-dimensional hydrodynamic circulation model. The dataset covers a decade from 1997 to 2007 for the U.S. East Coast region from approximately 30°N to 47°N. This collaborative model was developed by NOAA's National Weather Service and National Ocean Service, Princeton University, and the Naval Oceanographic Office.

Use Cases

• Analyzing temperature and salinity simulations across 18 vertical layers to study water column stratification.
• Investigating surface elevation and current forecasts for coastal flood risk or navigation studies.
• Validating other ocean models using this dataset's simulated heat, moisture, and momentum flux outputs.
• Examining the impact of tidal forcing and atmospheric boundary conditions on regional ocean forecasts.

Strengths

• Model employs an 18-layer sigma coordinate system with high vertical resolution, concentrating at least half the layers in the upper 100 meters.
• Provides spatially detailed forecasts with horizontal resolution varying from approximately 20 km offshore to 10 km nearshore.
• Covers a long temporal range of over ten years, from 1997-01-01 to 2007-09-05.

Limitations

• Critical metadata conflicts exist: the 'last updated' date is listed as both 2007-09-05 and a future date of 2026-03-05, creating uncertainty about data currency.
• No column names, row counts, or file size information is provided by any source, limiting technical assessment.
• The primary description and model details are sourced from a 2004 website abstract, which may not reflect the final archived dataset.

Provenance

Source

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), based on output from the collaborative Regional Ocean Forecast System (ROFS).

Collection Method

Generated by the Princeton Ocean Model, a three-dimensional hydrodynamic circulation model driven by NCEP's Eta atmospheric forecast model and climatological boundary estimates.

Time Range

1997-01-01 to 2007-09-05

Freshness

2007-09-05

Geography

U.S. East Coast region from approximately 30°N to 47°N latitude, extending out to 50°W longitude. The coastal boundary follows the 10-meter isobath.