SCOR Working Group 153:
Floating Litter and its Oceanic TranSport Analysis and Modelling (FLOTSAM)

Gaps that will be explored will include, but not be limited to, improved mixed layer parameterizations and refined vertical and time resolution of ocean circulation models, inclusion of high-frequency processes and their non-linear interactions (Stokes drift, inertial oscillations, and diurnal cycle in the upper-ocean stratification). The WG will address the absence of data on critical parameters (e.g., fluxes) that are needed to support next-generation models, as well as the shortage in observations of surface currents (remote or in situ) that could help calibrate/validate models. We will also discuss marine litter parameters that can characterize non-homogenous distribution and behaviour, floating lifetime, settling, fragmentation, degradation, and ingestion by marine life that can increase the power of debris drift modelling. The results of WG discussions will be presented in a synthetic paper in an open-access, peer-reviewed journal publication.

The group will select a set of software and computing platforms (e.g., Python, R, Matlab, Ferret etc.) and models (MITgcm, MOM, POM, NEMO, ROMS, etc.) in order to identify a platform to lead the development of new tracking tools, taking into account the very rapid development of ultra-fine-resolution global ocean hydrodynamics simulations (which will reach 1/60o global resolution within the foreseeable future). The group will then agree on a common set of model metrics and diagnostics required to evaluate model performance, as well as a reference database from the observations. Platform leaders will be responsible for writing the code, which will be tested against a common model. Open-source scripts and codes will be made available to the ocean science community.