Surface model fields of currents, temperature, salinity, and sea elevation from the GoM-HYCOM model (1/50 deg resolution) from 2016-01-01 to 2016-12-31

The dataset is based on archives from the University of Miami’s high-resolution (1/50 degrees, 1.8 km) configuration of the Hybrid Coordinate Ocean Model (HYCOM) in the Gulf of Mexico (GoM-HYCOM 1/50) for the year of 2016. The GoM-HYCOM 1/50 used realistic river forcing parameterization developed by Schiller and Kourafalou (2010). The river discharge data used for the river forcing was obtained from the Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). Atmospheric forcing was obtained from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) at 0.125-degree spatial resolution and it is nested at the open boundaries using the Global HYCOM expt_91.1. The model assimilated satellite observations of sea surface temperature and sea surface height, and in situ observations of temperature and salinity. The GoM-HYCOM 1/50 gives details on the fronts and filaments associated with the Mississippi River plume dynamics, as well as GoM mesoscale processes relevant to this study (in particular the Loop Current frontal dynamics and their influence on plume transport). The dataset includes the surface model fields of temperature, salinity, currents and sea surface height from the GoM 1/50 at 1200Z.