(Invited Talk) A Coupled Air-Sea Mesoscale Data Assimilation and Prediction System for U.S. Navy Operations

The Navy's operational, globally relocatable Coupled Ocean/Atmosphere Mesoscale Prediction System (COAMPS®) – On Scene (COAMPS-OS®) supports reach-back operations at the Fleet Numerical Meteorology and Oceanography Center (FNMOC), Monterey, CA, through the use of web-enabled 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, a dynamic ocean circulation model and two ocean wave models have been integrated into COAMPS-OS to provide an easy to use, quick reaction, relocatable, coupled environmental data assimilation and prediction capability for improved support of maritime operations. The system has also been enhanced to provide a nearly continuous nowcast capability in order for the operators to maintain situational awareness, and the system has been interfaced to a set of web services that provide mission impact spreadsheet analysis products that highlight anticipated environmental effects on sensors, systems, platforms, and missions. This paper will describe the recent developments and current capabilities of COAMPS-OS, highlighting some of the regions of use and the applications the system is applied to. Areas of future research will also be discussed.

* COAMPS® and COAMPS-OS® are registered trademarks of the Naval Research Laboratory.