Focus of Session: There are many open questions in characterizing the interaction of the ocean, atmosphere, hydrosphere, and land surface, especially at their interface in coastal regions. Characterizing these interactions in the coastal environment remains highly uncertain due to fine temporal and spatial scale interactions among the physical, biochemical, hydrological and land processes, calling for an interdisciplinary approach in observational, data assimilation and modeling studies. While observations provide insight into current and past trends and variability, regional coastal modeling and data assimilation fills the gap between global models and the growing demand for reliable information and predictions at much more highly resolved scales in the coastal environment. This session will focus on the critical importance of accurately coupling the atmosphere, ocean, hydrosphere and land surface for modeling, research and operational prediction, with an emphasis on the essential importance of satellite-derived data for monitoring, modeling and data assimilation. Studies are encouraged that include efforts for the coupling of oceanic, atmospheric, hydrologic and land surface models from global and basin scales to regional coastal scales. We encourage observational papers addressing the variability and trends in the coastal environment. We also emphasize the development of tools for assessing uncertainty estimates of the predictions at coastal scales. Partnering Conferences: 11th Symposium on the Coastal Environment (CE); the 17th Conference on Integrating Observing and Assimilation Systems for the Atmosphere, Ocean and Land Surface (IOAS-AOLS); and Satellite Meteorology, Oceanography and Climatology (SMOC) Lead Conference: 11th Symposium on the Coastal Environment Format of session: Invited papers __X__ Submitted papers __X__ Panel discussion ___ Contacts: 11th Symposium on the Coastal Environment: Frank Aikman, NOAA/NOS, frank.aikman@noaa.gov; 17th Conference on Integrating Observing and Assimilation Systems for the Atmosphere, Ocean and Land Surface, Ken Carey (Earth Resources Technology (ERT), Inc.), ken.carey@ertcorp.com; Satellite Meteorology, Oceanography and Climatology, Philip Ardanuy (Raytheon) Philip_E_Ardanuy@raytheon.com

This session highlights advances in development and applications of land data assimilation systems (LDAS), which merge ground- or satellite-based land surface observations with estimates from coupled or “off-line” land surface models, and can be used to initialize weather and seasonal climate forecasts, monitor and predict extreme events, provide improved background information for atmospheric data assimilation, improve process understanding, and support model development. Contributions may include studies that evaluate or improve land DA methods, assess LDAS impact on state estimates, or use LDAS for the above-mentioned applications. Contributions may address the simultaneous assimilation of multiple observation types, and use of current and planned hydrology satellite missions (e.g. SMOS, SMAP and SWOT). Contact(s): Mike Ek (Michael.Ek@noaa.gov), Youlong Xia (Youlong.Xia@noaa.gov), Rolf Reichle (Rolf.Reichle@nasa.gov), and Susan Steele-Dunne (s.c.steele-dunne@tudelft.nl)

This session highlights advances in development and applications of land data assimilation systems (LDAS), which merge ground- or satellite-based land surface observations with estimates from coupled or “off-line” land surface models, and can be used to initialize weather and seasonal climate forecasts, monitor and predict extreme events, provide improved background information for atmospheric data assimilation, improve process understanding, and support model development. Contributions may include studies that evaluate or improve land DA methods, assess LDAS impact on state estimates, or use LDAS for the above-mentioned applications. Contributions may address the simultaneous assimilation of multiple observation types, and use of current and planned hydrology satellite missions (e.g. SMOS, SMAP and SWOT). Contact(s): Mike Ek (Michael.Ek@noaa.gov), Youlong Xia (Youlong.Xia@noaa.gov), Rolf Reichle (Rolf.Reichle@nasa.gov), and Susan Steele-Dunne (s.c.steele-dunne@tudelft.nl)