One of the most important advances NPOESS will bring to the operational NWP community is the decreased latency for satellite observations. This is especially important to the U.S. Navy, which operates primarily over coastal and open ocean areas that are not well-observed by conventional observation systems. Timely receipt of satellite observations is critical for mesoscale data assimilation with rapid update cycling over these regions. It is also important for 4D-Var, as recent research suggests that the observations at the end of the assimilation time window are most important.

This presentation will give an overview of the Naval Research Laboratory's research and development activities oriented towards preparation for operational data assimilation and numerical weather prediction for the U.S. Navy in the NPOESS era. Our readiness efforts have concentrated on radiance assimilation using heritage sensors, 4D-Var, rapid update cycling for mesoscale data assimilation, ozone and aerosol assimilation, land surface assimilation, and stratospheric/mesospheric assimilation using the risk reduction sensor DMSP SSMIS.