Validating the Global Ocean
Prediction System version 3.1
Alan J. Wallcraft
NRL
10 May, 2 pm, in 2890
Abstract:
The Global Ocean Forecast System (GOFS) 3.1 is comprised of the 1/12°
HYbrid Coordinate Ocean Model (HYCOM) two–way coupled on the same grid
to the Community Ice CodE (CICE) in a daily update cycle with the Navy
Coupled Ocean Data Assimilation (NCODA). Additionally it uses Improved
Synthetic Ocean Profiles (ISOP) to project surface information downward
into the water column. GOFS 3.1 nowcasts/forecasts the ocean’s
“weather”, which includes the three-dimensional ocean temperature,
salinity and current structure, the surface mixed layer, the location
of mesoscale features, and sea ice fields (including concentration,
thickness and drift) in both hemispheres. It is scheduled to replace
GOFS 3.0 for the ocean and the Arctic Cap Nowcast/Forecast System
(ACNFS) for sea ice, both of which are the existing operational systems
at the Naval Oceanographic Office. We describe the differences between
GOFS 3.0 and GOFS 3.1 and compare both (and ACNFS) against
unassimilated observations at both the nowcast time and as a function
of forecast length.