Development of the Prince William Sound nowcast/forecast system

To support marine ecosystem and fisheries studies and monitoring in Prince William Sound (Alaska), the Princeton Ocean Model (POM) has been implemented on a high-resolution (1.2 km) grid, and with realistic bottom topography plus temperature and salinity stratification. The principal forcing of Prince William Sound (PWS) circulation is provided by the throughflow from the buoyant Alaskan Coastal Current, plus wind, tidal, and local runoff forcing. The aim is to establish a quasi-operational nowcast/forecast system by 1998. The current state of PWS model development and validation is described, and the plans to utilize the regional real-time observing system for evolving the model into a nowcast/forecast system are outlined.