Description:

The NOAA Unified Forecast System (UFS) is a proposed community-based, coupled comprehensive Earth modeling system that is designed to incorporate coastal hydrodynamic, hydrologic, and oceanographic forecast model core(s) into a simplified NOAA modeling suite. The UFS Coastal Applications Team (CAT) - Water Quantity set up three sub-application teams–marine navigation, risk reduction, and total water level–to set the foundation for the selection of an oceanographic model(s) to be part of the UFS that supports the marine navigation, coastal resilience (e.g. total water level), and disaster and risk mitigation communities. The three sub-application teams have developed consensus user requirements, developed criteria for selecting oceanographic models, selected a list of models for further evaluation, and recommended skill assessment guidelines for subsequent evaluation of the models.

The marine navigation sub-application team has been evaluating the coastal model cores for the past 1.5 years+, with NOAA partnering with academic collaborators to generate the model mesh; set up the models; run simulations for tides alone and then coupled to atmosphere, wave, sea ice, and hydrologic models; and then evaluate the model performance and accuracy based on selected criteria. Goals of this effort are to build the coastal modeling communities around these models; train the next generation of modelers and scientists, exposing them to operational model requirements and constraints; and support the UFS and other operational coastal oceanographic models and their applications.

We encourage oral and poster presentations on:

• Coastal modeling, including coupled earth-system models in the coastal zone, in support of the UFS CAT effort, including from academic, government, and industry testers, and from model developers
• Coastal ocean models and products supporting precision marine navigation, the Blue Economy, and other critical needs (e.g. water levels, ocean currents, surface waves)
• Coastal ocean studies for public safety, disaster and risk mitigation, and resilience for coastal economies and communities
• Coastal studies for ecological health, water quality, pollutant transport, invasive species, and impacts on industries (e.g. tourism and fisheries)