Ricardo De Camargo | Universidade de São Paulo (original) (raw)
Papers by Ricardo De Camargo
Resumo A inovação se apresenta, na atual sociedade, como u ma alternativa para a consolidação do ... more Resumo A inovação se apresenta, na atual sociedade, como u ma alternativa para a consolidação do desenvolvimento econômico dos países e fonte de van tagem competitiva para as organizações. A cooperação Universidade-Segmento em presarial, nesse contexto, surge como um arranjo interinstitucional que congrega as ações de três agentes determinantes no processo de inovação: o governo, a universidade e o segmento empresarial. Este trabalho tem como objetivo verificar a importância da cooperação Univ ersidade-Segmento empresarial para o processo de inovação. Quanto aos procedimentos meto dológicos o estudo caracteriza-se como: estudo de caso, descritivo, bibliográfico e d ocumental com abordagem predominantemente qualitativa. A coleta de dados fo i realizada junto aos Diretores de Centro e do Departamento de Inovação Tecnológica e a Pró-R eitoria de Pesquisa e Extensão. A análise dos dados seguiu os preceitos da análise do discurso. Concluiu-se que a cooperação Universidade-Segmento empres...
Weather and Forecasting
Cold-air incursions across South America present a variety of problems, sometimes by advancing to... more Cold-air incursions across South America present a variety of problems, sometimes by advancing to the Amazon basin and causing agricultural losses related to extreme low-temperature events. The synoptic conditions that produce cold-air incursions are relatively well understood; however, the most affected region depends on the route by which cold air spreads across the continent. Therefore, the classification of extreme cold-air incursions allows a better understanding of the particularities directly related to the aforementioned losses. In this work, similarities and differences among extreme cold surges were found through time series correlation of anomaly temperatures in four selected areas and compositing techniques from ERA-Interim reanalysis datasets, resulting in three distinct patterns: meridional penetration (MP), meridional restriction (MR), and east penetration (EP). The patterns identified here enable a more detailed understanding of the synoptic patterns and forcing mech...
We analyzed the spatial pattern of wave extremes in the South Atlantic Ocean by using multiple al... more We analyzed the spatial pattern of wave extremes in the South Atlantic Ocean by using multiple altimeter platforms spanning the period 1993-2015. Unlike the traditional approach adopted by previous studies, consisting in computing the monthly mean, median or maximum values inside a bin of certain size, we tackled the problem with a different procedure in order to capture more information from short term events. All satellite tracks occurring during two-day temporal window were added in the whole area and then gridded data was generated onto a mesh size of 2 • × 2 • through optimal interpolation. The 5 Peaks Over Threshold (POT) method was applied, along with the generalized Pareto distribution (GPD). The results showed a spatial distribution comparable to previous studies and, on the other hand, this method allowed capturing more information on shorter time scales without compromising spatial coverage. A comparison with buoy observations demonstrated that this approach improves the representativeness of short-term events in an extreme events analysis.
Frontiers in Marine Science
The generation and evolution of ocean waves by wind is one of the most complex phenomena in geoph... more The generation and evolution of ocean waves by wind is one of the most complex phenomena in geophysics, and is of great practical significance. Predictive capabilities of respective wave models, however, are impaired by lack of field in situ observations, particularly in extreme Metocean conditions. The paper outlines and highlights important gaps in understanding the Metocean processes and suggests a major observational program in the Southern Ocean. This large, but poorly investigated part of the World Ocean is home to extreme weather around the year. The observational network would include distributed system of buoys (drifting and stationary) and autonomous surface vehicles (ASV), intended for measurements of waves and air-sea fluxes in the Southern Ocean. It would help to resolve the issues of limiting fetches, extreme Extra-Tropical cyclones, swell propagation and attenuation, wave-current interactions, and address the topics of wave-induced dispersal of floating objects, wave-ice interactions in the Marginal Ice Zone, Metocean climatology and its connection with the global climate.
Frontiers in Earth Science
Several studies showed the advantages of using nudging techniques to enforce the evolution of a n... more Several studies showed the advantages of using nudging techniques to enforce the evolution of a numerical model to approximate large-scale features to a reference. Spectral nudging applications are particularly useful since they also provide the ability to maintain higher temporal and spatial variability in the simulations results. In this study, different nudging configurations are tested for an intense South Atlantic Convergence Zone (SACZ) event. Large-scale features directly modulate the SACZ formation and persistence. Therefore, the employment of relaxation methods enhances the representation of continental-wide features from lateral boundary conditions over the interior of broad domains. Results show that Spectral Nudging is very effective at imposing the selected synoptic scales onto the solution, while allowing the limited-area model to incorporate finer-scale features. Wave numbers with associated length scales of 2000km are ideal to enforce large-scale fields to represent features important for the SACZ formation and persistence. Using larger wave numbers can improve the simulation performance, but at a cost of damping the model dynamic and physical contribution to the final solution.
Ocean Science
We analyzed the spatial pattern of wave extremes in the South Atlantic Ocean by using multiple al... more We analyzed the spatial pattern of wave extremes in the South Atlantic Ocean by using multiple altimeter platforms spanning the period 1993-2015. Unlike the traditional approach adopted by previous studies, consisting of computing the monthly mean, median or maximum values inside a bin of certain size, we tackled the problem with a different procedure in order to capture more information from short-term events. All satellite tracks occurring during a 2-day temporal window were gathered in the whole area and then gridded data were generated onto a mesh size of 2 • × 2 • through optimal interpolation. The peaks over threshold (POT) method was applied, along with the generalized Pareto distribution (GPD). The results showed a spatial distribution comparable to previous studies and, additionally, this method allowed for capturing more information on shorter timescales without compromising spatial coverage. A comparison with buoy observations demonstrated that this approach improves the representativeness of short-term events in an extreme events analysis.
Ocean Dynamics
The coast of Mozambique is often affected by storms, particularly tropical cyclones during summer... more The coast of Mozambique is often affected by storms, particularly tropical cyclones during summer or sometimes midlatitude systems in the southern part. Storm surges combined with high freshwater discharge can drive huge coastal floods, affecting both urban and rural areas. To improve the knowledge about the impact of storm surges in the coast of Mozambique, this study presents the first attempt to model this phenomenon through the implementation of the Princeton Ocean Model (POM) in the Southwestern Indian Ocean domain (SWIO; 2–32°S, 28–85°E) using a regular grid with 1/6° of spatial resolution and 36 sigma levels. The simulation was performed for the period 1979–2010, and the most interesting events of surges were related to tropical cyclones Bonita (1996) and Lisette (1997) that occurred in the Mozambique Channel. The results showed that the model represented well the amplitude and phase of principal lunar and solar tidal constituents, as well as it captured the spatial pattern and magnitudes of SST with slight positive bias in summer and negative bias in winter months. In terms of SSH, the model underestimated the presence of mesoscale eddies, mainly in the Mozambique Channel. Our results also showed that the atmospheric sea level pressure had a significant contribution to storm heights during the landfall of the tropical cyclones Bonita (1996) and Lisette (1997) in the coast of Mozambique contributing with about 20 and 16% of the total surge height for each case, respectively, surpassing the contribution of the tide-surge nonlinear interactions by a factor of 2.
Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society, 2017
This paper explores the evolution of subtropical cyclone Anita, which occurred near the east coas... more This paper explores the evolution of subtropical cyclone Anita, which occurred near the east coast of Brazil (∼19 • S−37 • W) in March 2010. Thermodynamic and dynamic processes during Anita's lifecycle are investigated using the heat and vorticity budget equations. The cyclone developed with hybrid characteristics and moved anomalously to the southwest where it coupled with an upper level cutoff low during the mature phase. This coupling was the main dynamical mechanism for further cyclone deepening. Anita then remained quasi-stationary about 30 • S−47 • W for two days due to an upper level dipole pattern which prevented earlier displacement of the upper level low counterpart. When the dipole pattern dissipated, the cyclone moved southeast and underwent extratropical transition whilst merging with a mid-latitude frontal cyclone. Diabatic heating and horizontal temperature advection are found to be essential for the subtropical development. During extratropical transition, it is instead diabatic cooling together with adiabatic cooling and warm air advection that act as the main mechanisms to influence the local temperature tendencies at low levels. Low level cyclonic tendencies were mostly due to convergent flow, and the residual vorticity partially destroyed the vorticity tendencies produced by the divergence term. Moreover, in regions and levels where convection could explain some of the vorticity tendencies, it is found that apparent sinks of cyclonic vorticity were related to negative vorticity due to divergence (i.e., convergent flow), whilst apparent sources were related to positive vorticity due to divergence (i.e., divergent flow).
A recuperação e análise de dados de nível do mar dos portos de Belém, Recife, Santos e Cananéia, ... more A recuperação e análise de dados de nível do mar dos portos de Belém, Recife, Santos e Cananéia, Brasil, em escala de tempo decadal, permite determinar variabilidades sazonais, anuais e decadais do nível médio do mar e das componentes de maré, como M 2 e S 2 , as quais são associadas a fenômenos, provavelmente locais, ainda não claramente entendidos e estabelecidos. Por outro lado, os valores das tendências de variações do nível médio (relativo) do mar de longo termo desses portos estão em consonância com as variabilidades até agora registradas em vários portos em todo o mundo; a tendência do nível médio do mar no porto de Cananéia, com cerca de 40 cm / século, pode estar ocorrendo em toda costa brasileira.
The São Paulo shelf ranges from *23°Sto 11 25°S, comprising nearly 622 km of shoreline. This 12 r... more The São Paulo shelf ranges from *23°Sto 11 25°S, comprising nearly 622 km of shoreline. This 12 region sustains historical landings of the tropical 13 arrow squid Doryteuthis plei. As in other coleoid 14 cephalopods, the broodstock dies following spawning 15 and the continuance of the population relies exclu-16 sively upon the survival of the paralarvae, which are 17 very sensitive to oceanographic conditions. As a first 18 step towards the understanding of paralarval transport, 19 the shelf area was evaluated in terms of retention/ 20 dispersion potential. A Lagrangian particle-tracking 21 Individual-Based Model was set up using a 3D 22 Princeton Ocean Model model forced with in situ data 23 obtained from July 2009 to July 2011. Neutrally buoyant particles were released every first day of every month in the model, and tracked for 45 days. The retention potential was high for particles released from the bottom all over the study area from the coast to the shelf break (200 m isobath). Offshore losses showed a marked seasonality. Regarding inshore losses, the percentage of particles beached was constant year round and smaller than offshore losses, being higher south of 24°S. Simulation results seem to agree with present knowledge of the reproductive behaviour of the species in the region.
Revista Brasileira de Recursos Hídricos, 2000
... indicou a influência das feições topográficas locais no vento médio diário enas perturb... more ... indicou a influência das feições topográficas locais no vento médio diário enas perturbações horárias em relação ao mesmo, tendo sido ... A circulação de maré foi estudada através da determinação das elipses de correntes de maré na superfície, para todo o domínio ...
Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions, 2016
The budget equation components for turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) and the variances of virtual po... more The budget equation components for turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) and the variances of virtual potential temperature, specific humidity, and specific CO<sub>2</sub> content have been estimated using the Inertial Dissipation and Eddy Covariance methods. A discussion with four examples is provided about the normalization used for comparing different tracer spectra, divided by the respective characteristic scale squared. A total of 124 high frequency sample segments of a 30-min period from 20 days of the Boundary Layer Afternoon and Sunset Turbulence field campaign were used in order to provide parameterizations for the dimensionless dissipation and residual (i.e. total transport) components as a function of the Atmospheric Surface Layer (ASL) stability parameter, ζ. The results show a similar linear relation for all tracers variance dissipation components, Φ<sup><i>D</i></sup><sub>χ</sub> ≅ 0.4 + 0.2 ζ, during the ...
Atmospheric and Oceanic Science Letters, 2014
The Brazilian coast is characterized by different tidal regimes and distinct meteorological influ... more The Brazilian coast is characterized by different tidal regimes and distinct meteorological influences. The northern part has larger tidal amplitudes and is permanently affected by trade winds and tropical disturbances; the southern portion has smaller tidal amplitudes and is frequently influenced by extratropical cyclone activity. Besides these aspects, many features regarding current structure and behavior are also present, such as the equatorial system of currents, the subtropical gyre and the corresponding western boundary currents, and the Brazil-Malvinas confluence region. Within this context, efforts were made to develop the BRAZCOAST system, capable of describing the processes that determine the oceanic circulation from large to coastal scales. A customized version of the Princeton Ocean Model (POM) was implemented in a basin-scale domain covering the whole of the tropical and southern Atlantic Ocean, with 0.5° spatial resolution, as well as three nested grids with (1/12)° resolution covering the different parts of the Brazilian shelf, in a one-way procedure. POM was modified to include tidal potential generator terms and a partially-clamped boundary condition for tidal elevations. The coarse grid captured large-scale features, while the nested grids detailed local circulations affected by bathymetry and coastal restrictions. An interesting aspect at the coarse grid level was the relevance of the Weddell Sea to the location of the tidal amphidromic systems.
Resumo A inovação se apresenta, na atual sociedade, como u ma alternativa para a consolidação do ... more Resumo A inovação se apresenta, na atual sociedade, como u ma alternativa para a consolidação do desenvolvimento econômico dos países e fonte de van tagem competitiva para as organizações. A cooperação Universidade-Segmento em presarial, nesse contexto, surge como um arranjo interinstitucional que congrega as ações de três agentes determinantes no processo de inovação: o governo, a universidade e o segmento empresarial. Este trabalho tem como objetivo verificar a importância da cooperação Univ ersidade-Segmento empresarial para o processo de inovação. Quanto aos procedimentos meto dológicos o estudo caracteriza-se como: estudo de caso, descritivo, bibliográfico e d ocumental com abordagem predominantemente qualitativa. A coleta de dados fo i realizada junto aos Diretores de Centro e do Departamento de Inovação Tecnológica e a Pró-R eitoria de Pesquisa e Extensão. A análise dos dados seguiu os preceitos da análise do discurso. Concluiu-se que a cooperação Universidade-Segmento empres...
Weather and Forecasting
Cold-air incursions across South America present a variety of problems, sometimes by advancing to... more Cold-air incursions across South America present a variety of problems, sometimes by advancing to the Amazon basin and causing agricultural losses related to extreme low-temperature events. The synoptic conditions that produce cold-air incursions are relatively well understood; however, the most affected region depends on the route by which cold air spreads across the continent. Therefore, the classification of extreme cold-air incursions allows a better understanding of the particularities directly related to the aforementioned losses. In this work, similarities and differences among extreme cold surges were found through time series correlation of anomaly temperatures in four selected areas and compositing techniques from ERA-Interim reanalysis datasets, resulting in three distinct patterns: meridional penetration (MP), meridional restriction (MR), and east penetration (EP). The patterns identified here enable a more detailed understanding of the synoptic patterns and forcing mech...
We analyzed the spatial pattern of wave extremes in the South Atlantic Ocean by using multiple al... more We analyzed the spatial pattern of wave extremes in the South Atlantic Ocean by using multiple altimeter platforms spanning the period 1993-2015. Unlike the traditional approach adopted by previous studies, consisting in computing the monthly mean, median or maximum values inside a bin of certain size, we tackled the problem with a different procedure in order to capture more information from short term events. All satellite tracks occurring during two-day temporal window were added in the whole area and then gridded data was generated onto a mesh size of 2 • × 2 • through optimal interpolation. The 5 Peaks Over Threshold (POT) method was applied, along with the generalized Pareto distribution (GPD). The results showed a spatial distribution comparable to previous studies and, on the other hand, this method allowed capturing more information on shorter time scales without compromising spatial coverage. A comparison with buoy observations demonstrated that this approach improves the representativeness of short-term events in an extreme events analysis.
Frontiers in Marine Science
The generation and evolution of ocean waves by wind is one of the most complex phenomena in geoph... more The generation and evolution of ocean waves by wind is one of the most complex phenomena in geophysics, and is of great practical significance. Predictive capabilities of respective wave models, however, are impaired by lack of field in situ observations, particularly in extreme Metocean conditions. The paper outlines and highlights important gaps in understanding the Metocean processes and suggests a major observational program in the Southern Ocean. This large, but poorly investigated part of the World Ocean is home to extreme weather around the year. The observational network would include distributed system of buoys (drifting and stationary) and autonomous surface vehicles (ASV), intended for measurements of waves and air-sea fluxes in the Southern Ocean. It would help to resolve the issues of limiting fetches, extreme Extra-Tropical cyclones, swell propagation and attenuation, wave-current interactions, and address the topics of wave-induced dispersal of floating objects, wave-ice interactions in the Marginal Ice Zone, Metocean climatology and its connection with the global climate.
Frontiers in Earth Science
Several studies showed the advantages of using nudging techniques to enforce the evolution of a n... more Several studies showed the advantages of using nudging techniques to enforce the evolution of a numerical model to approximate large-scale features to a reference. Spectral nudging applications are particularly useful since they also provide the ability to maintain higher temporal and spatial variability in the simulations results. In this study, different nudging configurations are tested for an intense South Atlantic Convergence Zone (SACZ) event. Large-scale features directly modulate the SACZ formation and persistence. Therefore, the employment of relaxation methods enhances the representation of continental-wide features from lateral boundary conditions over the interior of broad domains. Results show that Spectral Nudging is very effective at imposing the selected synoptic scales onto the solution, while allowing the limited-area model to incorporate finer-scale features. Wave numbers with associated length scales of 2000km are ideal to enforce large-scale fields to represent features important for the SACZ formation and persistence. Using larger wave numbers can improve the simulation performance, but at a cost of damping the model dynamic and physical contribution to the final solution.
Ocean Science
We analyzed the spatial pattern of wave extremes in the South Atlantic Ocean by using multiple al... more We analyzed the spatial pattern of wave extremes in the South Atlantic Ocean by using multiple altimeter platforms spanning the period 1993-2015. Unlike the traditional approach adopted by previous studies, consisting of computing the monthly mean, median or maximum values inside a bin of certain size, we tackled the problem with a different procedure in order to capture more information from short-term events. All satellite tracks occurring during a 2-day temporal window were gathered in the whole area and then gridded data were generated onto a mesh size of 2 • × 2 • through optimal interpolation. The peaks over threshold (POT) method was applied, along with the generalized Pareto distribution (GPD). The results showed a spatial distribution comparable to previous studies and, additionally, this method allowed for capturing more information on shorter timescales without compromising spatial coverage. A comparison with buoy observations demonstrated that this approach improves the representativeness of short-term events in an extreme events analysis.
Ocean Dynamics
The coast of Mozambique is often affected by storms, particularly tropical cyclones during summer... more The coast of Mozambique is often affected by storms, particularly tropical cyclones during summer or sometimes midlatitude systems in the southern part. Storm surges combined with high freshwater discharge can drive huge coastal floods, affecting both urban and rural areas. To improve the knowledge about the impact of storm surges in the coast of Mozambique, this study presents the first attempt to model this phenomenon through the implementation of the Princeton Ocean Model (POM) in the Southwestern Indian Ocean domain (SWIO; 2–32°S, 28–85°E) using a regular grid with 1/6° of spatial resolution and 36 sigma levels. The simulation was performed for the period 1979–2010, and the most interesting events of surges were related to tropical cyclones Bonita (1996) and Lisette (1997) that occurred in the Mozambique Channel. The results showed that the model represented well the amplitude and phase of principal lunar and solar tidal constituents, as well as it captured the spatial pattern and magnitudes of SST with slight positive bias in summer and negative bias in winter months. In terms of SSH, the model underestimated the presence of mesoscale eddies, mainly in the Mozambique Channel. Our results also showed that the atmospheric sea level pressure had a significant contribution to storm heights during the landfall of the tropical cyclones Bonita (1996) and Lisette (1997) in the coast of Mozambique contributing with about 20 and 16% of the total surge height for each case, respectively, surpassing the contribution of the tide-surge nonlinear interactions by a factor of 2.
Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society, 2017
This paper explores the evolution of subtropical cyclone Anita, which occurred near the east coas... more This paper explores the evolution of subtropical cyclone Anita, which occurred near the east coast of Brazil (∼19 • S−37 • W) in March 2010. Thermodynamic and dynamic processes during Anita's lifecycle are investigated using the heat and vorticity budget equations. The cyclone developed with hybrid characteristics and moved anomalously to the southwest where it coupled with an upper level cutoff low during the mature phase. This coupling was the main dynamical mechanism for further cyclone deepening. Anita then remained quasi-stationary about 30 • S−47 • W for two days due to an upper level dipole pattern which prevented earlier displacement of the upper level low counterpart. When the dipole pattern dissipated, the cyclone moved southeast and underwent extratropical transition whilst merging with a mid-latitude frontal cyclone. Diabatic heating and horizontal temperature advection are found to be essential for the subtropical development. During extratropical transition, it is instead diabatic cooling together with adiabatic cooling and warm air advection that act as the main mechanisms to influence the local temperature tendencies at low levels. Low level cyclonic tendencies were mostly due to convergent flow, and the residual vorticity partially destroyed the vorticity tendencies produced by the divergence term. Moreover, in regions and levels where convection could explain some of the vorticity tendencies, it is found that apparent sinks of cyclonic vorticity were related to negative vorticity due to divergence (i.e., convergent flow), whilst apparent sources were related to positive vorticity due to divergence (i.e., divergent flow).
A recuperação e análise de dados de nível do mar dos portos de Belém, Recife, Santos e Cananéia, ... more A recuperação e análise de dados de nível do mar dos portos de Belém, Recife, Santos e Cananéia, Brasil, em escala de tempo decadal, permite determinar variabilidades sazonais, anuais e decadais do nível médio do mar e das componentes de maré, como M 2 e S 2 , as quais são associadas a fenômenos, provavelmente locais, ainda não claramente entendidos e estabelecidos. Por outro lado, os valores das tendências de variações do nível médio (relativo) do mar de longo termo desses portos estão em consonância com as variabilidades até agora registradas em vários portos em todo o mundo; a tendência do nível médio do mar no porto de Cananéia, com cerca de 40 cm / século, pode estar ocorrendo em toda costa brasileira.
The São Paulo shelf ranges from *23°Sto 11 25°S, comprising nearly 622 km of shoreline. This 12 r... more The São Paulo shelf ranges from *23°Sto 11 25°S, comprising nearly 622 km of shoreline. This 12 region sustains historical landings of the tropical 13 arrow squid Doryteuthis plei. As in other coleoid 14 cephalopods, the broodstock dies following spawning 15 and the continuance of the population relies exclu-16 sively upon the survival of the paralarvae, which are 17 very sensitive to oceanographic conditions. As a first 18 step towards the understanding of paralarval transport, 19 the shelf area was evaluated in terms of retention/ 20 dispersion potential. A Lagrangian particle-tracking 21 Individual-Based Model was set up using a 3D 22 Princeton Ocean Model model forced with in situ data 23 obtained from July 2009 to July 2011. Neutrally buoyant particles were released every first day of every month in the model, and tracked for 45 days. The retention potential was high for particles released from the bottom all over the study area from the coast to the shelf break (200 m isobath). Offshore losses showed a marked seasonality. Regarding inshore losses, the percentage of particles beached was constant year round and smaller than offshore losses, being higher south of 24°S. Simulation results seem to agree with present knowledge of the reproductive behaviour of the species in the region.
Revista Brasileira de Recursos Hídricos, 2000
... indicou a influência das feições topográficas locais no vento médio diário enas perturb... more ... indicou a influência das feições topográficas locais no vento médio diário enas perturbações horárias em relação ao mesmo, tendo sido ... A circulação de maré foi estudada através da determinação das elipses de correntes de maré na superfície, para todo o domínio ...
Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions, 2016
The budget equation components for turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) and the variances of virtual po... more The budget equation components for turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) and the variances of virtual potential temperature, specific humidity, and specific CO<sub>2</sub> content have been estimated using the Inertial Dissipation and Eddy Covariance methods. A discussion with four examples is provided about the normalization used for comparing different tracer spectra, divided by the respective characteristic scale squared. A total of 124 high frequency sample segments of a 30-min period from 20 days of the Boundary Layer Afternoon and Sunset Turbulence field campaign were used in order to provide parameterizations for the dimensionless dissipation and residual (i.e. total transport) components as a function of the Atmospheric Surface Layer (ASL) stability parameter, ζ. The results show a similar linear relation for all tracers variance dissipation components, Φ<sup><i>D</i></sup><sub>χ</sub> ≅ 0.4 + 0.2 ζ, during the ...
Atmospheric and Oceanic Science Letters, 2014
The Brazilian coast is characterized by different tidal regimes and distinct meteorological influ... more The Brazilian coast is characterized by different tidal regimes and distinct meteorological influences. The northern part has larger tidal amplitudes and is permanently affected by trade winds and tropical disturbances; the southern portion has smaller tidal amplitudes and is frequently influenced by extratropical cyclone activity. Besides these aspects, many features regarding current structure and behavior are also present, such as the equatorial system of currents, the subtropical gyre and the corresponding western boundary currents, and the Brazil-Malvinas confluence region. Within this context, efforts were made to develop the BRAZCOAST system, capable of describing the processes that determine the oceanic circulation from large to coastal scales. A customized version of the Princeton Ocean Model (POM) was implemented in a basin-scale domain covering the whole of the tropical and southern Atlantic Ocean, with 0.5° spatial resolution, as well as three nested grids with (1/12)° resolution covering the different parts of the Brazilian shelf, in a one-way procedure. POM was modified to include tidal potential generator terms and a partially-clamped boundary condition for tidal elevations. The coarse grid captured large-scale features, while the nested grids detailed local circulations affected by bathymetry and coastal restrictions. An interesting aspect at the coarse grid level was the relevance of the Weddell Sea to the location of the tidal amphidromic systems.