Recent and Ongoing Developments in NASA GMAO's Earth-System Models and Applications Suite

NASA’s Global Modeling and Assimilation Office (GMAO) uses the Goddard Earth Observing System (GEOS) model in combination with various data assimilation systems to produce operational-quality products for a range of Earth-system applications including numerical weather prediction (NWP), composition forecasting, subseasonal-to-seasonal prediction, and reanalyses of the atmosphere, ocean, and land. These systems undergo quasi-regular, targeted upgrades derived from GMAO’s broader research and development efforts and driven by NASA’s goal of being an “end-to-end” agency where satellite observations are increasingly carried to their ultimate ends for both scientific applications and for societal benefit and actions. In addition to these targeted upgrades, GMAO has recently undertaken a transformative effort to replace, where feasible, the existing suite of purpose-built data assimilation systems with a single JEDI-based configurable data assimilation system for use with coupled models of the atmosphere, ocean, cryosphere, and land. This capability is deemed essential if GMAO is to exploit the full range of NASA’s increasingly diverse catalogue of Earth-system observations. In this talk we describe some recent and near-future advancements in the current suite of GMAO production systems, including current testing of increased horizonal and vertical resolution plus improved physics in the GEOS atmospheric model, progress in the transition of our systems to the Joint Effort for Data assimilation Integration (JEDI) infrastructure, and the confluence of these developments with plans for GMAO’s next reanalysis. For some systems, transition to JEDI is occurring in a phased manner, while in others the JEDI-based systems are being developed “from the ground up”. Focus will be on developments in the GEOS Forward Processing (FP) system for real-time NWP and GMAO’s emerging capability for coupled ocean-atmospheric assimilation. JEDI developments for other Earth-system components such as composition forecasting will also be briefly described.