Evaluation of four global ocean reanalysis products for New Zealand waters-A guide for regional ocean modelling

A comparison between 4 (near) global ocean reanalysis products is presented for the waters around New Zealand. The objective is to provide information for an educated choice of ocean estate estimate. The simulations are compared to satellite and in situ observations, and vertical sections are extracted to evaluate the representation of the main regional boundary currents and their transport. Overall, the Copernicus GLORYS reanalysis exhibits the better performance, with more realistic ocean variability and smaller biases in the water column structure. However, the BlueLink Reanalysis (BRAN) provides more realistic transport estimates of the East Auckland Current, an important boundary current connecting New Zealand to the World Ocean. All simulations have important biases in both temperature and salinity, particularly in coastal regions. Moreover, they are not able to represent coastal currents and processes. Therefore, the present study results emphasise the need for a regional ocean reanalysis and a data assimilative operational forecast system.

Automated summary

A comparison of four (near) global ocean reanalysis products in the waters around New Zealand shows that Copernicus GLORYS reanalysis performs better in ocean variability and water column structure, while BlueLink Reanalysis provides more realistic transport estimates. Biases in temperature and salinity are present in all simulations, underlining the necessity of a regional ocean reanalysis and data assimilative operational forecast system.