Surface patterns of temperature, salinity, total alkalinity (TA), and dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) across the Gulf of Mexico derived from the GoMBio model experiments from 1981-01-01 to 2014-12-31 (NCEI Accession 0242495)

This dataset contains monthly-averaged surface fields of temperature, salinity, total alkalinity (TA), and dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) derived from the GoMBio model for 1981-2014. GoMBio is a ROMS-based 8-km resolution ocean-biogeochemical model encompassing the entire Gulf of Mexico. Model details can be found in Gomez et al. (2018; https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-3561-2018) and Gomez et al. (2020; https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-1685-2020). We include the results of four model experiments: (1) model hindcast, (2) climatological Mississippi-Atchafalaya chemistry experiment (CLM_MC), (3) climatological river experiment (CLM_RIV), and (4) climatological forcing experiment (CLM_FORC). The model hindcast experiment was forced with surface fluxes of momentum, heat, and freshwater from the European Center for Medium Range Weather Forecast reanalysis product (ERA-Interim). We prescribed a time-evolving monthly series of freshwater discharge for 28 river sources in the U.S., and a climatological discharge for 10 rivers in the U.S. and 11 rivers in Mexico. We also prescribed time evolving concentration of nutrients, TA, and DIC for the Mississippi and Atchafalaya River System (MARS), and long-term climatological values for the other river sources. The CLM_MC and CLM_RIV experiments are like the model hindcast, but the river inputs were modified to evaluate the model sensitivity to changes in river runoff. In the CLM_MC experiment we used a monthly climatology for the MARS. In the CLM_RIV experiment we used climatological river discharge values for all rivers, as well as the climatological chemistry for the MARS. Finally, in the CLM_FORC experiment, we prescribed climatological patterns for rivers, surface fluxes and the open boundary conditions. The only exceptions were the atmospheric CO2 and the open boundary conditions for DIC, which varied as in the model hindcast. This last experiment was conducted to examine the influence of climate variability in ocean acidification patterns.