The U.S. Navy's on-demand, coupled, mesoscale data assimilation and prediction system

For the past decade, the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) has developed software to support reach-back operations for forward-deployed personnel to configure and run the Navy's Coupled Ocean/Atmosphere Mesoscale Prediction System (COAMPS®). The software is called COAMPS-OS® (On-Scene) and it is comprised of graphical user interfaces and automated data processing to simplify an operator's interaction with COAMPS which significantly decreases the time to respond to operational requirements. Recently, an enhanced version of COAMPS-OS has been developed to provide an hourly Rapid Update Cycle (RUC) procedure for applying a suite of new analysis and initialization techniques, with the results reported in a companion paper by Zhao et al. In addition to the RUC, a dynamic ocean circulation model and two ocean wave models are also being integrated into COAMPS-OS to provide a consistent environmental data assimilation and prediction capability for supporting maritime operations. When transitioned, this enhanced coupled system will be used for on-demand weather and oceanographic forecasting to help maintain situational awareness by providing anticipated environmental effects on military operations. This paper will describe the current capabilities of COAMPS-OS and discuss areas of future development.