The Coupled Ocean/Atmosphere Mesoscale Prediction System (COAMPS)

Abstract

Abstract : Typically, data assimilation systems have been developed separately for the atmosphere and ocean. However, there is increasing evidence that suggests that the atmosphere and ocean data assimilation systems should be combined. To fully account for these observed interactions as well as to anticipate the discovery of a host of other ways in which the ocean and atmosphere modify each other, NRL has undertaken the development of the Couple Ocean/Atmosphere Mesoscale Prediction System (COAMPS). The goal of this modeling project is to gain predictive skill in simulating the ocean and atmosphere at high resolution on time-scales of hours to several days. Significant questions exist as to how tightly coupled the atmosphere and ocean data assimilation systems must be, and over what types of atmospheric and ocean conditions this coupling is important. The purpose of this paper is to provided a description of the status of COAMPS and present recent results.