The analysis shows that the global model presents some marked biases in coastal areas even though generally, the differences with the satellite data are less than for the regional model. In the particular cases of the Banda Sea, the yearly cycle is better represented in the regional model with similar amplitudes and standard deviation. Similar results are found for the sea surface height data. The conclusion is that the regional model is of better quality over the Banda Sea. EO offers thus a simple an effective way of providing zero order validation for numerical models. They can thus be used also in the tuning of such models, to insure that the parameters used allow the best possible representation of the oceanographic circulation in the region of interest. Finally, these type of diagnostics can also be produced on a daily basis when a model is used for day to day operations such as the provision of a current forecast. |