We are pleased to share Salish Sea Model (SSM) solutions generated through our model development efforts over the years. The SSM is a research tool developed by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in collaboration with the Washington State Department of Ecology and the U.S. EPA. It is used by the University of Washington students, faculty, and the Salish Sea research community. The model and the solutions have been tested against monitoring data to meet performance standards but are not perfect by any means. They are continually improved upon and must be treated and used in that spirit.
| Disclaimer: These data were generated through work sponsored by an agency of the United States Government. Neither the United States Government nor any agency thereof, nor the Salish Sea Modeling Center-University of Washington, nor Battelle Memorial Institute, nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any data or information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. |
SSM Hindcasts – 2013 to Present
The SSM (intermediate scale version, 16012 nodes and 10 layers) hindcast solutions from Year 2013 to present are provided below for download and use by the user community. Regionwide average model validation and skill assessment information is also provided alongside. Users are referred to Khangaonkar et al. (2018) and Khangaonkar and Yun (2023) for more details.
Each year consists of (1) SSM hydrodynamic model (HYD) folder with results generated by the FVCOM model application; and (2) SSM Water Quality Model (WQM) folder with results generated by the FVCOM-ICM model application. The hydrodynamic solutions in netcdf format include water surface elevation, currents (u,v), temperature (T) and salinity (S) at an hourly interval along with additional information related to turbulence and mixing. The water quality solutions include numerous biogeochemical parameters including T, and S, dissolved oxygen (DO), pH, total alkalinity, dissolved inorganic carbon, algal biomass of diatoms, dinoflagellates, organic and inorganic forms of nutrients (N,P), detritus as particulate and dissolved organic carbon, and zooplankton. These netcdf files correspond to each day in the calendar year with 24 hourly records.
| HYD | YR2013 | YR2014 | YR2015 | YR2016 | YR2017 | YR2018 | YR2019 | YR2020 | YR2021 | YR2022 | YR2023 | YR2024 |
| WQM | YR2013 | YR2014 | YR2015 | YR2016 | YR2017 | YR2018 | YR2019 | YR2020 | YR2021 | YR2022 | YR2023 | YR2024 |
SSMHR or SSCOFS Hindcasts – selected years
Hindcast solutions from the Salish Sea Model – high resolution version SSMHR (239,734 nodes and 10 layers) which has been incorporated into the Salish Sea and Columbia River Operational Forecast System (SSCOFS) are presented below. Regionwide average model validation and skill assessment information is also provided alongside. Users are referred to Premathilake and Khangaonkar (2023) for more details. Each year consists of SSMHR hydrodynamic model (HYD) folder with results generated by the FVCOM model application.
How to Download SSM Data Files
You can download SSM data files in two ways. If you are not familiar with coding, simply use the links in the table above to download files one by one. For users who prefer automation or want to download multiple files at once, Python, wget, or curl can be used. In Python, this can be done easily with a for loop that goes through a list of file URLs or filenames. Examples of each method are shown below.
Download using Python
import urllib.request
url = "https://s3.kopah.uw.edu/ssm/hyd/2013/ssm_0001.nc"
urllib.request.urlretrieve(url, "ssm_0001.nc")
print("Downloaded to ssm_0001.nc")Download using wget
wget https://s3.kopah.uw.edu/ssm/hyd/2013/ssm_0001.ncDownload using curl
curl -O https://s3.kopah.uw.edu/ssm/hyd/2013/ssm_0001.ncOil Spill Modeling in the Salish Sea using the Salish Sea Model (SSM) and General NOAA Operational Modeling Environment (GNOME)
- A Demonstration Package Prepared for Education and Outreach
Salish Sea Modeling Center (SSMC) in consultation with the Education Coordinator for the SeaDoc Society, created this package for teaching demonstrations and use by middle and high school teachers and their students. The model solution is provided solely for educational and research purposes; any use of the model solution beyond the intended scope must be approved by SSMC. No rights in the underlying intellectual property, beyond the grant of this permissive research license, is provided herein. The user assumes responsibility for the model use, misuse, or inability to use the model solution and in no event shall SSMC have any liability for damages, including but not limited to any indirect, incidental, or consequential damages, arising from or in connection with the use of the model solution. Contact Tarang Khangaonkar for more information.
Download the ZIP file here (70 MB). Instructions are in the SSMC_ReadMe text file.