Articles | Volume 19, issue 2
https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-19-827-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-19-827-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Model evaluation paper
| 
26 Jan 2026
Model evaluation paper |
| 26 Jan 2026
| 26 Jan 2026
Modeling Indian Ocean circulation to study marine debris dispersion: insights into high-resolution and wave forcing effects with Symphonie 3.6.6
Université de Toulouse, LEGOS (IRD, CNRS, CNES, UT3), OMP, F31400, Toulouse, France
Université de Brest, LOPS (IRD, CNRS, Ifremer), IUEM, F29280, Plouzané, France
Marine Herrmann
Université de Toulouse, LEGOS (IRD, CNRS, CNES, UT3), OMP, F31400, Toulouse, France
Patrick Marsaleix
Université de Toulouse, LEGOS (IRD, CNRS, CNES, UT3), OMP, F31400, Toulouse, France
Matthieu Bompoil
Université de Brest, LOPS (IRD, CNRS, Ifremer), IUEM, F29280, Plouzané, France
Christophe Maes
Université de Brest, LOPS (IRD, CNRS, Ifremer), IUEM, F29280, Plouzané, France
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In summer, deep, cold waters rise to the surface along and off the Vietnamese coast. This upwelling of water lifts nutrients, inducing biological activity that is important for fishery resources. Strong tides occur on the shelf off the Mekong Delta. By increasing the mixing of ocean waters and modifying currents, they are a major factor in the development of upwelling on the shelf, accounting for ~75 % of its average summer intensity.
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A high-resolution model was built to study the South China Sea (SCS) water, heat, and salt budgets. Model performance is demonstrated by comparison with observations and simulations. Important discards are observed if calculating offline, instead of online, lateral inflows and outflows of water, heat, and salt. The SCS mainly receives water from the Luzon Strait and releases it through the Mindoro, Taiwan, and Karimata straits. SCS surface interocean water exchanges are driven by monsoon winds.
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The South Vietnam upwelling develops in summer along and off the Vietnamese coast. It brings cold and nutrient-rich waters to the surface, allowing photosynthesis essential to marine ecosystems and fishing resources. We show here that its daily variations are mainly due to the wind, thus predictable, in the southern shelf and coastal regions. However, they are more chaotic in the offshore area, and especially in the northern area, due to the influence of eddies of a highly chaotic nature.
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Ocean Sci., 18, 1131–1161, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-18-1131-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-18-1131-2022, 2022
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The South Vietnam Upwelling develops in the coastal and offshore regions of the southwestern South China Sea under the influence of summer monsoon winds. Cold, nutrient-rich waters rise to the surface, where photosynthesis occurs and is essential for fishing activity. We have developed a very high-resolution model to better understand the factors that drive the variability of this upwelling at different scales: daily chronology to summer mean of wind and mesoscale to regional circulation.
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Short summary
We developed a high-resolution ocean model to study marine debris dispersion across the Indian Ocean, from coastal scales to the open sea. Results show that model resolution and wave forcing, through both the Stokes-Coriolis force and Stokes drift, play a key role in shaping ocean circulation, seasonal energy budgets, and floating debris trajectories. High-resolution currents and wave forcing, especially during monsoons, increase the anisotropic spread and travel distances of drifting material.
We developed a high-resolution ocean model to study marine debris dispersion across the Indian...
