The Unified Forecast System (UFS): A Framework for Prediction Shared by Research and Operations

The Unified Forecast System (UFS) is a community-based, coupled, comprehensive Earth modeling system. It can be configured into multiple applications, which span local to global domains and predictive time scales from sub-hourly analyses to seasonal predictions. UFS is designed to support both the United States Weather Enterprise, including National Weather Service forecasts, and to be an exploratory platform that can include research elements that are not part of operational applications.

The UFS is being built using community frameworks for model component coupling, interoperability of atmospheric physics, data assimilation, and verification. The component models currently included in UFS are also community-based or in the process of becoming so: the Global Forecast System 15 (GFSv15) atmosphere, the Modular Ocean Model 6 (MOM6), the WAVEWATCH III wave model, the Los Alamos sea ice model 5 (CICE5), the Noah and Noah-MP land models, the Goddard Chemistry Aerosol Radiation and Transport (GOCART) aerosol model, the Ionosphere-Plasmasphere Electrodynamics (IPE) model, and the Advanced Circulation (ADCIRC) model for storm surge, tides, and coastal circulation.

To advance this activity, in January 2019, The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) signed a Memorandum of Agreement to create a partnership on infrastructure development. This partnership will leverage and extend community software developed by these research and operational centers together with partner organizations such as NASA, the Department of Defense, and universities. Sharing infrastructure software across the community means that it is easier for researchers to run operational software and for new science to be transferred to operations.

In this talk we will provide an overview of how the UFS is emerging as a powerful predictive framework that will streamline NOAA’s operational code base and engage the community in advancing its capabilities.

Website: https://ufscommunity.org/