Departamento de Oceanografía Física, Institut de Ciències del Mar, ICM-CSIC

Physical Oceanography Department of Marine Sciences Institute, ICM-CSIC

All researchers participating in TIC-MOC are from the Department of Physical Oceanography Group (DOF) at the Institut de Ciències del Mar (Marine Science Institute, ICM, Barcelona) of the Centro Mediterráneo de Investigaciones Marinas y Ambientales (Mediterranean Center for Environmental and Marine Research, CMIMA).

DOF is one of the four departments that constitute ICM. In 2005 it was recognized by the Generalitat de Catalunya (Catalan Government) as a consolidated research group (2005SGR00476). Since 1986 the main research line by GOF has been the mesoscale variability and frontal dynamics, with a deep experimental basis (research cruises, Lagrangian and Eulerian mesurements, remote sensing). GOF has acquired a large experience in studies regarding:

- Water masses and marine circulation in the western Mediterranean,

- Mediterranean Outflow Water dynamics,

- Water masses and marine circulation in the eastern margin of the subtropical North Atlantic,

- Water masses and marine circulation in the western margin of the tropical Atlantic,

- Mesoscale processes in the ocean surface layer,

- Physical and biological coupling processes,

- Ocean remote sensing,

- Numerical modelling, and

- Role of oceans on the Earth’s climate.

The above research lines have been developed mainly through projects funded by Spanish Research National Programs, European Union Framework Programs, and through participation in the Earth Observing Program of the European Spatial Agency, but some support has also come from other national and international sources such as Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional para el Desarrollo, National Science Foundation (US), Groupe Mission Mercator Coriolis (France), and foreign universities. GOF has also been involved in a number of technological activities (PETRI Project, European Programs), specially in developing systems to obtain Lagrangian measurements of the marine currents and tools to acquire, visualize and analyze oceanographic data. GOF’s research has been carried out in collaboration with research groups from Spain, France, Italy, United Kingdom, Germany, Belgium, Norway, Russia, Canada and USA.

Further information and a complete listing of the Department’s publications may be found at the Department’s web page: http://www.icm.csic.es/oce/en