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GODAE OceanView

From an Experiment towards a long-term International Programme for Ocean Analysis and Forecasting

Information about the 1st GODAE OceanView Science Team meeting can be found here

Purpose

The new co-chairs of GODAE OceanView have been appointed
Image of Andreas Schiller

Over the past 10 years, GODAE through its International GODAE Steering Team (IGST) has coordinated and facilitated the development of global and regional ocean forecasting systems and has made excellent progress. GODAE as an experiment has ended in 2008.

International collaboration and coordination on both operational and research activities related to ocean analysis and forecasting should, however, continue but in a different way. As GODAE prototype systems transition to operational status, international coordination of the standardization of products and interoperability between systems must be established. The Joint WMO/IOC technical Commission, JCOMM, has recently established an Expert Team on Operational Oceanographic Forecasting Systems (ET-OOFS) for this purpose.

The most pressing societal issues to which ocean analysis and forecasting systems can make substantial contributions have evolved over the last 10 years. Continuous improvement of these systems and the development of new capability is needed to address these issues (e.g. modeling, data assimilation, error estimates, use of new observations). This demands highlevel research leadership and international collaboration and coordination.

There are also important issues related to the global ocean observing system. GODAE groups should be organized to provide regular recommendation and guidance on the evolution of the global ocean observing system and to demonstrate its value and effectiveness. In order to ensure the required long-term international collaboration and cooperation on these issues, it is proposed to set up an international program on ocean analysis and forecasting called GODAE OceanView.

 

Scope

Through its science team, GODAE OceanView would provide coordination and leadership in:

  • The consolidation and improvement of global and regional analysis and forecasting systems (physics).
  • The progressive development and scientific testing of the next generation of systems covering biogeochemical and ecosystems and extending from the open ocean into the shelf sea and coastal waters.
  • The exploitation of this capability in other applications (weather forecasting, seasonal and decadal prediction, climate change detection and its coastal impacts, etc).
  • The assessment of the contribution of the various components of the observing system and scientific guidance for improved design and implementation of the ocean observing system.

Such an approach will need to be integrated with existing and future research activities related to ocean modeling including those within the WCRP, in IGBP and in the WMO World Weather Research Program. The GODAE OceanView white paper outlines the opportunities and challenges for operational oceanography in the next 10 years and proposes a framework for the GODAE OceanView Science Team which covers its objectives, relationships with other groups including parent bodies, main activities and task teams, terms of reference and links with international research program (e.g. CLIVAR, IMBER) and with JCOMM ET-OOFS.

(Last Updated: 30-06-2010)