Challenges of Maintaining a Global Weather Prediction Capability for Naval Operations

The military and civilian team of the Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command (NMOC) are on-watch 24/7, poised to communicate meteorology and oceanography (METOC) effects to the US Navy and national leaders. Core to the meteorological operations of sense, analyze, predict, and forecast are the collection, processing, exploitation, and dissemination of data to ensure safe navigation and maneuverability while increasing lethality of Naval combat systems. We will describe the creation of operational products from precise time to the characterization of meteorological, oceanographic, and space environments. Specific efforts are underway to enhance data collection with unmanned systems and industry partners using Data as a Service. Ongoing research and development will be transitioning the next generation of global weather prediction models that are fully coupled from the seabed to space. We will discuss the challenges for computing, processing, storing, and distributing the relatively large data sets that will result from the next generation of global weather prediction models.