MEDLEY

MEDLEY brings together state of the art observations, groundbreaking submesoscale-resolving models, an innovative sea-ice model, and the latest generation of climate models (with an eddying ocean) involved in the HighResMIP intercomparison. The objectives of MEDLEY are 1) to evaluate the spatial heterogeneity of fluxes and processes controlling the ocean mixed layer
2) to take into account this heterogeneity to improve the representation of the mixed layer transfer function in climate models.

• By pooling their expertise, MEDLEY members will produce the most complete evaluation of the mixed layer dynamicsin climate models, from the North Atlantic to the Arctic ocean.

• MEDLEY will improve our understanding of the relationship between air-sea fluxes and mixed layer properties,taking into account the mediation of the fluxes induced by the fractured sea ice cover. It will evaluate the effect of heterogeneities on mixed layer properties, including currents and kinetic energy, as well as the relationship between the mixed layer and the interior through the stratified transition layer.

• MEDLEY will impact European climate models based on the NEMO modelling platformby improving the representation of sea ice and mixed layer processes. We will create new diagnostics for model evaluation to ensure that the mixed layer transfer function is better constrained in future climate models.