Ocean Models
Ocean model characteristics
Described below are the OGCMs (Oceanic General Circulation Models) the OceanPredict systems are running, as well as their domain, resolution, levels and atmospheric forcing.
| System | OGCM | Domain | Horizontal Resolution | Vertical Sampling | Atmospheric Forcing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia – BLUElink> – updated 2021 |
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| OceanMapsv3.4 | OFAM3 (MOM5) | 75S-75N , 0-360 (Global) | Uniform 0.1° x 0.1° |
51 z* levels | ACCESS-G3 (APS3) |
| BRAN2020 | OFAM3 (MOM5) | 75S-75N , 0-360 (Global) | Uniform 0.1° x 0.1° |
51 z* levels | JRA-55 |
| Canada – CONCEPTS – updated Oct 2019 | |||||
| CONCEPTS Global | NEMO 3.1 | Global | 1/4° | 50 z-levels | Fully coupled to 10km atmosphere (CCMEP GEM model) |
| CONCEPTS Regional | NEMO 3.1 | Regional: Arctic & North Atlantic | 1⁄4°, 1/12°, 1/36° | 50 z-levels | CCMEP Regional Deterministic Prediction System – hourly |
| CONCEPTS – Gulf of St Lawrence | NEMO 3.1 | Gulf of St Lawrence | 5 km | 35 z-levels | Fully coupled at every timestep to CCMEP Global Deterministic Prediction System; Hourly CCMEP |
| CONCEPTS Wave | WW3 v5.16 | Wave | 1/4° | 36 bins of frequency and 36 bins of direction | Hourly CCMEP |
| CONCEPTS Dalcoast | Dalcoast v.5 | Regional Deterministic Surge Prediction System (RDSPS) | 1/30° | 2D barotropic | |
| USA – ECCO group – updated Oct 2019 |
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| ECCO | MITgcm | Global and regional domains | From 1° (LLC90, ECCO central production), 18km (ECCO2), down to 2 km (LLC4320) | 50 to 100 z-levels | ERA-Interim (ECCOv4r3) or JRA-55 |
| UK/Europe – ECMWF – updated Nov 2020 |
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| ECMWF | NEMO V3.4 | Global | 1⁄4° | 75 levels, 1m-1.5m thickness upper levels | Bulk formulation including wave forcing
ERA-Interim from 19790101 to 20151231 ECMWF NWP from 20160101 to present ECMWF operational NWP since 2010 |
| UK – FOAM – updated Nov 2020 |
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| FOAM | NEMO | Global; regional in N. Atlantic, Indian Ocean, Mediterranean; shelf-seas in the NW European Shelf Seas (NWS) | 1⁄12° global, and 1⁄12°regionally and 1.5km shelf-seas | 75 z-levels (global) and 50 z-levels (regional), all with 1m resolution in the top 10m of the ocean. 50 σ-coordinate levels in the shelf-seas | 3 hourly surface heat and freshwater forcing, with 1 hourly winds, from Met Office NWP system
A global coupled atmosphere/land/ocean/sea-ice forecasting system with the same ocean resolution is also run operationally, with atmosphere resolution of ~40km. A global coupled NWP system with coupled data assimilation, 10km atmospheric/land resolution and ¼º ocean/sea-ice resolution will be implemented operationally during 2021. |
| USA – HYCOM/NCODA and GOFS – updated Oct 2019 |
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| HYCOM/ NCODA GOFS | HYCOM | Global | 1⁄12.5° | 32 hybrid coordinate surfaces | T359L50 Navy Global Environmental Model (NAVGEM) (v. 1.2) |
| India – INDOFOS – updated Oct 2018 | |||||
| INCOIS-GODAS | MOM5.1 | Global | 0.5° x 0.25° with in 10°S – 10°N and 0.5° x 0.5° beyond 30° | 40 levels | Operational atmospheric prediction system from the NCMRWF (National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecast (NCMRWF), New Delhi |
| INDOFOS | ROMS v3.7 | Indian Ocean | 1/12° / 1/12 | 40 levels | Operational atmospheric prediction system from the NCMRWF (National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecast (NCMRWF), New Delhi |
| HOOFS | ROMS v3.7 | Local Indian Ocean regions | 1/48° x 1/48° (~2.25 x 2.25 km) | 40 levels | Operational atmospheric prediction system from the NCMRWF (National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecast (NCMRWF), New Delhi |
| ITOPS | HYCOM | Global & Indian Ocean nested to Global | 0.25° x 0,25° (ITOPS-Global) and 0.0625° x 0.0625° (ITOPS-IO) | 29 levels | GFS 0.25° x 0.25° |
| Republic of Korea – operational ocean forecasting systems – updated Nov 2020 |
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| KOOFS (North Pacific) | ROMS | Northwest Pacific (NPACIFIC) | 0.25° | 30 σ-levels | NCOP GFS (NOAA) |
| KOOFS (YES) | ROMS | The Yellow and East China Sea | 3 km | 41 σ-levels | Hourly surface fluxes from WRF |
| KOOFS (East Sea) | ROMS | East Sea | 3 km | 41 σ-levels | Hourly surface fluxes from WRF |
| KOOFS (Korea Strait) | ROMS | Korea Strait | 1.5 km | 20 σ-levels | Hourly surface fluxes from WRF |
| KOOFS (West Coastal Zone Model) | ROMS | West coastal zone of Korea | 1 km | 30 σ-levels | Hourly surface fluxes from WRF |
| KOOFS (Southwest Coastal Zone Model) | ROMS | South coastal zone of Korea | 1 km | 30 σ-levels | Hourly surface fluxes from WRF |
| KOOFS (Ulleungdo Coastal Model) | ROMS | Ulleungdo of Korea | 1 km | 41 σ-levels | Hourly surface fluxes from WRF |
| KOOFS (Ulleungdo-Dokdo sub-coastal model) | ROMS | Ulleungdo & Dokodo of Korea | 0.3 km | 41 σ-levels | Hourly surface fluxes from WRF |
| KOOFS_OPEM | GFDL-MOM5 | Northwest Pacific | 1/24° | 51 layers (z-star coordinate) | 6-hourly surface fluxes from ECMWF ERA INTERIM data (201501-201702)/KMA GDAPS (201703-) |
| Coastal KOOS | MOHID | Seas adjacent to the Korean Peninsula (L2 and L3) | 1/48° (L2) and 1/288° (L3) | 40 layers (8 sigma-levels and 32 z-levels) | Hourly surface fluxes from the WRF (Weather Research and Forecasting) model, with 3D-VAR cycling |
| France – Mercator Ocean International – updated Jan 2021 | |||||
| GLO12 and BIO4 real time forecasting system | NEMO. PISCES biogeochemical component is coupled to the system in an offline mode and at lower resolution (1/4°) |
Global | 1⁄12° | 50 vertical levels, 1m at the surface | ECMWF |
| IBI36 real time forecasting system | NEMO. PISCES biogeochemical component is coupled online at the same resolution |
Iberian Biscay and Irish Seas (IBI) | 1⁄36° | 50 vertical levels, 1m at the surface | ECMWF |
| Italy – CMCC and OGS – updated Feb 2022 | |||||
| GOFS16 Analysis and Forecast System | NEMO v3.4 | Global | 1/16° | 98 vertical levels | 6-h, daily with 0.25° horizontal-res NCEP |
| C-GLORSv7 Reanalysis System | NEMO v3.6 | Global | 1/4° | 75 vertical levels | 6-h, 0.75° horizontal-res ERA-interim |
| MedFS Analysis and Forecast System | NEMO v3.6 | Mediterranean Sea extended in the Atlantic Ocean | 1/24° | 141 vertical levels | 1/3/6-h, 0.1° horizontal-res ECMWF |
| MedFS Reanalysis System | NEMO v3.6 | Mediterranean Sea extended in the Atlantic Ocean | 1/24° | 141 vertical levels | 1-h, 0.25° horizontal-res ERA 5 |
| MedBFM Analysis and Forecast Biogeochemical System | OGSTM-BFM (offline coupled with MedFS system) | Mediterranean Sea | 1/24° | 141 vertical levels | 1-h, 0.1° horizontal-res ECMWF |
| MedBFM Reanalysis System | OGSTM-BFM (offline coupled with MedFS system) | Mediterranean Sea | 1/24° | 141 vertical levels | 1-h, 0.25° horizontal-res ECMWF |
| Japan – MOVE/MRI.COM – updated Nov 2020 |
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| MOVE/MRI.COM-G2 | MRI.COM version 3 | Global | 1° x 0.5 ° | 50 levels | JRA55 (JMA’s Operational analysis and Reanalysis) and NWP output |
| Japan area system: MOVE/MRI.COM-JPN | MRI.COM version 4 | [Forecast model] Japan area (JPN) [Analysis model] North Pacific (NP) |
(JPN) 1/33° x 1/50° (NP) 1/10° x 1/11° |
60 levels | GSM (real-time analysis and forecast) and JRA55 (delayed mode analysis) |
| Global system: MOVE/MRI.COM-G3 | MRI.COM version 4 | Global | Analysis model] 1° x 0.5° [Forecast model] 0.25° x 0.25° |
60 levels | JRA55-do (JRA55-based forcing adjusted for driving ocean; Tsujino et al. 2018) |
| China – NMEFC – updated Nov 2020 |
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| Global Ocean Forecasting system | NEMO | Global | 1/12° | 75 levels, 20 levels in upper 200m | GFS 6-hourly and ECMWF |
| Regional – Northwest Pacific | ROMS | Northwest Pacific | 1/20° (1/36) | 30 σ-levels (36 σ-levels) | 6-hourly surface fluxes from NMEFCWRF / NCEP GFS / CFSR |
| Regional – Bohai Sea, Yellow Sea and East China Sea | ROMS | Bohai Sea, Yellow Sea and East China Sea | 1/30° | 30 σ-levels | 6-hourly surface fluxes from NMEFC WRF / NCEP GFS / NCEP CFSR |
| Regional – South China Sea | ROMS | South China Sea | 1/30° | 36 σ-levels | 6-hourly surface fluxes from NMEFC WRF / NCEP GFS / NCEP CFSR |
| Regional – Bohai Sea | ROMS | Bohai Sea | 1/60° | 30 σ-levels | 6-hourly surface fluxes from NMEFC WRF / NCEP GFS / NCEP CFSR |
| Regional – North Indian Ocean | ROMS | North Indian Ocean | 1/12° | 30 σ-levels | 6-hourly surface fluxes from NCEP GFS / CFSR |
| The atmosphere-ocean coupled typhoon forecast system | ROMS | Northwest Pacific | 15 km | 40 σ-levels | Sea surface stresses and heat fluxes from WRF results / CFSR |
| Brazil – REMO – updated May 2021 |
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| REMO- HYCOM 1/4 Regional | HYCOM | 78°S-55°N 100°W-20°E excluding the Pacific |
1/4° | 21 hybrid layers | NCEP GFS 0.25° 3-hourly |
| REMO- HYCOM 1/12 Regional | HYCOM | 56°S-10°N 67°W-18°W |
1/12° | 21 hybrid layers | CHM COSMO with 0.1° resolution |
| REMO- HYCOM 1/24 Regional | HYCOM | 35°S-12°S 54°W-32°W |
1/24° | 21 hybrid layers | CHM COSMO with 0.1° resolution |
| USA – RTOFS (Real-Time Ocean Forecast System) – updated May 2021 | |||||
| RTOFS | HYCOM | Global | 1/12° at equator | 41 hybrid layers | NCEP (GFS) 3-hourly, HWRF (Hurricane WRF) |
| RTOFS | HYCOM | North Atlantic | 1/12° rotated grid with 4-6km resolution as US coast | 26 hybrid layers | |
| RTOFS | HYCOM | North Atlantic, East Pacific and Western North Pacific | 1/12° | 32 hybrid layers | |
| Norway – Regional Arctic + North Atlantic physical ice-ocean near-real-time forecast system – updated May 2021 | |||||
| TOPAZ | HYCOM | North Atlantic (from 10S) – Arctic (until Bering Strait) | 12 km (between 1/8th and 1/6th) | 28 hybrid z-isopycnal layers | ECMWF 0.1 deg resolution |
Data Assimilation characteristics
Data assimilation is a valuable method applied in ocean models combining observation data and the dynamical physics governing the prediction system to provide an estimate of the state of the ocean which is better than could be obtained using just the data or the model alone.
| Assimilation Scheme | SST | SSH | Other |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia – BLUElink> – updated 2014 |
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| BODASv8.3
BODAS |
WindSAT, NAVO (AVHRR), NOAA-18, MetopA,, NOAA-19
AMSR-E, Pathfinder, NAVO |
Jason2, Cryosat-2, SARAL/AltiKa IGDR data streams
Along-track altimetry (all altimeters) |
Adaptive Non-linear Dynamical Initialisation (T,S,u,v,η) |
| Canada – CONCEPTS – updated Oct 2019 | |||
| Regional: SAM2 (SEEK); Ice 3DVar-FGAT ((5km analysis grid)
Global Ocean: SAM2 (similar to Mercator – PSY3V2R2); Ice: 3DVar-FGAT (10km) Gulf of St Lawrence: Ice: Direct insertion of RadarSAT image analyses from the Canadian Ice Service |
CCMEP SST Analysis (0.2deg OI) | AVISO | Coriolis/CLS (in situ T&S) as well as sea ice data from satellite sources (AMSR, AVHRR, MODIS, Radarsat) and ship reports. |
| USA – ECCO group – updated Oct 2019 |
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| Adjoint, Kalman filter/smoother, Green’s function | AMSR-E, TMI, AVHRR | Along-track TOPEX/Poseidon, Jason1 & -2, ENVISAT, GFO, ERS-1 & -2, tide gauges | XBT, CTD, Argo, TOGA-TAO, SSM/I (sea ice), GRACE, scatterometers, sea surface salinity, Florida Current transport |
| UK/Europe – ECMWF – updated Nov 2020 |
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| NEMOVAR | HadISST2 v2 pentad ¼ degree until 2008, and OSTIA thereafter | AVISO along track sea level anomalies and global maps | SIC: OSTIA reanalysis until 2008, OSTIA operational thereafter
CTD,Argo,Moorings from the EN4 (XBT corrected) data set until 2016 and from the GTS thereafter |
| UK – FOAM – updated Nov 2020 |
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| NEMOVAR (3DVar-FGAT) | GHRSST data including AVHRR from NOAA and MetOp. Also in situ surface data from ships, moored buoys and drifting buoys | Along-track satellite altimeter data from Aviso, including Jason-2 and Cryosat-2 data | SIC: SSMIS sea-ice concentration data from EUMETSAT OSI-SAF
All available in situ temperature and salinity data including XBTs, Argo, CTDs, moored buoys, gliders, marine mammals; |
| USA – HYCOM/NCODA and GOFS – updated Oct 2019 |
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| Navy Coupled Ocean Data Assimilation (NCODA): 3DVAR | NOAA-18, NOAA-19, METOP-A, METOP-B, GOES-13, GOES-15, MSG, COMS-1, MTSAT-2, WindSAT, NPP-VIIRS, drifting buoys, fixed buoys, ships (ERI, bucket, hull contact) | Jason-2, Altika, Cryosat-2 | In situ profiles, (Argo, gliders, XBTs, fixed and drifting buoys, CTDs), sea ice concentration (SSM/I, SSMIS). |
| India – INDOFOS – updated Oct 2018 | |||
| INCOIS-GODAS: 3D-Var INDOFOS: LETKF HOOFS: no assimilation ITOPS: (Tendral Statistical Interpolation Scheme) T-SIS |
Weekly Reynolds SST (GODAS) | AVISO (HyCOM) | T,S profiles (ARGO, XBT, XCTD, moored buoys) in GODAS |
| France – Mercator Ocean International – updated Jan 2021 | |||
| SAM2 SEEK filter including 3Dvar large scale bias correction | OSTIA SST delivered by CMEMS, one map per week is assimilated | Along track Sea Level anomaly from all available satellites delivered by CMEMS. In 2019, S3b was included in the system |
In-situ temperature and salinity profiles from CMEMS
Sea ice concentration maps delivered by CMEMS (GLO12 andBIO4) Ocean Color maps delivered by CMEMS (GLO12 and BIO4) |
| Italy – CMCC and OGS – updated Feb 2022 | |||
| CMCC: GOFS16 and C-GLORYSv7
OceanVar (3dvar) |
L3 AVHRR and AMRS2 data. Heat flux correction (SST Reynold OI) C-GLORSv7 Reanalysis: Heat flux correction (SST Reynolds) |
SLA Satellite along track data are assimilated
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SSS: Correction to fresh-water flux (SSS EN4 OA) SIC: Relaxation to SIC OI field from NOAA T/S: T/S Vertical profiles are assimilated C-GLORSv7: Nudging to the SIC, SIT is performed |
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CMCC (MedFS, MedREA) OGS: MedBFM |
MedFS, MedREA: Nudging to SST L4 |
MedFS, MedREA: SLA Satellite along track data are assimilated |
MedFS, MedREA: T/S Vertical profiles are assimilated MedBFM: Surface CHL satellite L3 data and profiles of CHL and NO3 from BGC-Argo are assimilated |
| Japan – MOVE/MRI.COM – updated Nov 2020 |
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| Global system G2 – 3DVAR-GAT
Japan Area system – 4DVAR-GAT and IAU-DST Global System G3 – 4DVAR and IAU-DST |
COBE-SST
MGDSST (JMA-GHRSTT product) MGDSST (JMA-GHRSST product) |
Along-track sea level anomalies including Jason-3, Cryosat-2, SARAL
T/P, Jason-1,2,3, ERS-1,2, ENVISAT, GFO, Cryosat-2, SARAL, HY-2A, and Sentinel-3A |
Temperature and Salinity profiles from GTS (Argo floats and tropical moorings are included.)
Temperature and Salinity profiles from GTS (Argo floats are included), Sea Ice concentration from SSM/I and SSMIS |
| China – NMEFC – updated Nov 2020 |
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| Global: NEMO: LESTKF
Regional – NW Pacific: EnOI for SLA, 3DVar for SST and T/S profiles Regional – Bohai Sea, Yelloe Sea, E China Sea: EnOI for SST Regional – S China Sea: EnOI for SST and SLA Regional- Bohai Sea: Nudging for SST Regional – N Indian Ocean: EnOI for SST and SLA Regional – NW Pacific: EnOI |
OSTIA SST
MGDSST or OSTIA
MGDSST
MGDSST or OSTIA
MGDSST MGDSST or OSTIA
IOSST |
Sea level anomaly from CLS
Gridded sea level anomaly.
Along-track sea level anomaly from CLS, including Jason-2/3, Altika, Cryosat-2, Sentinel-3a data. |
T&S Argo profiles, XBT
T/S profiles from Argo floats
Argo T/S profile |
| Brazil – REMO – updated May 2021 |
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| EnOI and Cooper and Haines | OSTIA | Along-track SLA NRT CMEMS/AVISO L3 | Argo T/S vertical profiles |
| USA – RTOFS (Real-Time Ocean Forecast System) – updated May 2021 | |||
| NRL / NAVOCEANO NCODA (See USA-HYCOM for details), 2+1DVar | See USA-HYCOM | See USA-HYCOM | See USA-HYCOM |
| Norway – Regional Arctic + North Atlantic physical ice-ocean near-real-time forecast system – updated May 2021 | |||
| DEnKF (Sakov and Oke 2008), 100 dynamical members | L4 data from CMEMS SST TAC (OSTIA) | Along track SLA from CMEMS SL TAC | Ice concentrations: SSM/I from CMEMS SI TAC (OSI-SAF),
In-situ: Temp and Salinity profiles from CMEMS Arctic in-situ TAC (including Argo floats, CTD sections, ITPs), Other: Sea ice drift from CMEMS SI TAC (OSI SAF product) |
Routine system set-ups
The table below describes the forecast range the OceanPredict systems can deliver as well as their update frequency and hindcast length.
| System | Forecast range | Update frequency | Hindcast length | Ensemble forecast |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BLUElink>
latest update from 2014 |
7 days (OFAM2) | Daily, 4-cycle system | 4 days
Renalysis, 4 day hindcast (1992-2010) |
|
| CONCEPTS | 10 days | Daily (regional) | 2002-present | |
| ECCO group |
N/A | N/A | N/A | |
| ECMWF
latest update from 2014 |
Different ranges: 18-days (daily), 32-days (weekly), and 7-months (monthly) | Daily for the real time
Every 5 days for the delayed product |
19570901 to present | |
| FOAM
latest update from 2014 |
7 days | Daily | 2-day hindcast every day | |
| HYCOM/NCODA (GOFS) | 7 days | Daily | 4 days | |
| INDOFOS | 5 days | Daily (ROMS) | 1 day (ROMS) | |
| Mercator Ocean |
Weekly for a 2-week forecast (respectively a 1-week forecast) with PSY2 and PSY3 (respectively PSY4 and BIOMER4)
Every day a 1-week forecast is produced with PSY2, PSY3 and PSY4 and a 5-day forecast with IBI36 |
Analysis is produced every week and the forecasts are updated every day taking into account the update of the atmospheric forcing | 2-week of hindcast are produced every week | |
| GOFS16 | 7 days
10 days (Med configuration) |
Daily
Daily |
Daily
Daily (Med) with weekly update from 15 days before (Med configuration only) |
|
| MOVE/MRI.COM | Western North Pacific: 30 days; Global (CGCM for seasonal-ElNino forecast): 7 months | 5 days | Global & North Pacific (1948-2014+), Western North Pacific (1993-2014+), Japan & Seto (2014+) | |
| NMEFC | 7days, 5 days, reanalysis (monthly) | Daily, twice daily | 1 day | |
| REMO | 6 day (Regional 1/4) 5 days (Regional 1/12) 4 days (Regional 1/24) |
Daily, analysis every 5 days | None | |
| RTOFS | 8 days (Global) 6 days (North Atlantic) 5 days (North Atlantic, East Pacific and Western North Pacific) |
Daily and 6 hourly | 2-day spin up from Navy initialisation | |
| TOPAZ | Out to 10 days | Weekly assimilation (with daily update of atmospheric forcing) | 1 week | 10 members |