Description
Summary:Between 1996 and 2005, the French CLIPPER project team performed numerical simulations of the Atlantic Ocean over the WOCE years (1980-2000). Since 2002, the DRAKKAR program extends this framework: international collaboration, global and basin-scale simulations of the ocean circulation, sea-ice and biogeochemical tracers over the 1950-2000+ period at increased resolutions with local grid refinement capabilities, improved physics and numerics. Both projects were designed to strengthen the complementarity between ocean simulations and observations, for the study of the oceanic variability. This review paper illustrates the scientific benefits of such synergies as performed during the CLIPPER experiment, and as presently done within the DRAKKAR program.