Validation Test Report for the Global Ocean Forecast System V3.0 - 1/12 deg HYCOM-NCODA: Phase II

Abstract

Global Ocean Forecast System Version 3.0 (V3.0) is comprised of the 1/12 deg global HYbrid Coordinate Ocean Model (HYCOM) and the Navy Coupled Ocean Data Assimilation (NCODA) system. It is a next-generation system capable of nowcasting and forecasting the oceanic "weather," which includes the three-dimensional ocean temperature, salinity and current structure, the surface mixed layer and the location of mesoscale features such as eddies, meandering currents and fronts. V3.0 is scheduled to replace the existing nowcast/forecast system (V2.6) based on the 1/8 deg Navy Coastal Ocean Model (NCOM), 1/32 deg Navy Layered Ocean Model (NLOM), 1/8 deg Modular Ocean Data Analysis System (MODAS) and NCODA. This Phase II report describes the validation testing performed on one-year hindcasts of V3.0 and V2.6. A few Phase I tasks (temperature vs. depth and acoustical proxy error analyses) have been re-evaluated along with new evaluations examining a) each system as a provider of boundary conditions to a regional nested model, b) 14-day forecast skill relative to climatology and persistence of temperature vs. depth, c) 14-day forecast skill of acoustical proxies, d) 14-day forecast skill of sea surface height and sea surface temperature, and e) a velocity comparison against glider and drifting buoy observations. Overall, this report has determined that GOFS V3.0 is performing equal to or notably better than GOFS V2.6. The superior performance of V3.0 is especially evident in providing boundary contitions to regional nested models, an important function of a global ocean nowcast/forecast system.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Feb 23, 2010
Accession Number
ADA518693

Entities

People

  • Alan J. Wallcraft
  • D. S. Franklin
  • Edward Joseph Metzger
  • G. Peggion
  • Harley E. Hurlburt
  • Jay F. Shriver
  • Ole Martin Smedstad
  • Prasad G. Thoppil
  • T. L. Townsend

Organizations

  • United States Naval Research Laboratory

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Ground and Sea Platforms
  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Arabian Sea
  • Computer Programs
  • Data Analysis
  • Data Sets
  • Environment
  • Error Analysis
  • Grids
  • Measurement
  • Oceanography
  • Oceans
  • Pacific Ocean
  • Sea Surface Temperature
  • Sea Water
  • Stratified Fluids
  • Surface Temperature
  • Three Dimensional
  • Underwater Acoustics

Fields of Study

  • Environmental science

Readers

  • Ocean-Atmosphere Mesoscale Modeling, Data Assimilation, and Flux Boundary Layers

Technology Areas

  • Autonomy