Frontiers in Marine Science (Sep 2019)
Synergies in Operational Oceanography: The Intrinsic Need for Sustained Ocean Observations
- Fraser Davidson,
- Aida Alvera-Azcárate,
- Alexander Barth,
- Gary B. Brassington,
- Eric P. Chassignet,
- Emanuela Clementi,
- Pierre De Mey-Frémaux,
- Prasanth Divakaran,
- Christopher Harris,
- Fabrice Hernandez,
- Patrick Hogan,
- Lars R. Hole,
- Jason Holt,
- Guimei Liu,
- Youyu Lu,
- Pablo Lorente,
- Jan Maksymczuk,
- Matthew Martin,
- Avichal Mehra,
- Arne Melsom,
- Huier Mo,
- Andrew Moore,
- Paolo Oddo,
- Ananda Pascual,
- Anne-Christine Pequignet,
- Villy Kourafalou,
- Andrew Ryan,
- John Siddorn,
- Gregory Smith,
- Deanna Spindler,
- Todd Spindler,
- Emil V. Stanev,
- Joanna Staneva,
- Andrea Storto,
- Clemente Tanajura,
- P. N. Vinayachandran,
- Liying Wan,
- Hui Wang,
- Yu Zhang,
- Xueming Zhu,
- Ziqing Zu
Affiliations
- Fraser Davidson
- Oceanography Department, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, North Atlantic Fisheries Center, St. John’s, NL, Canada
- Aida Alvera-Azcárate
- GeoHydrodynamics and Environent Research (GHER), Department of Astrophysics, Geophysics, and Oceanography (AGO), Interfacultary Center for Marine Research (MARE), University of Liège, Liège, Belgium
- Alexander Barth
- GeoHydrodynamics and Environment Research Group, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium
- Gary B. Brassington
- Science to Services, Bureau of Meteorology, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
- Eric P. Chassignet
- Center for Ocean-Atmospheric Prediction Studies, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, United States
- Emanuela Clementi
- Fondazione Centro Euro-Mediterraneo sui Cambiamenti Climatici (CMCC), Bologna, Italy
- Pierre De Mey-Frémaux
- Laboratoire d’Etudes en Géophysique et Océanographie Spatiales (LEGOS), Toulouse, France
- Prasanth Divakaran
- Science to Services, Bureau of Meteorology, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
- Christopher Harris
- Ocean Forecasting Research and Development, Met Office, Exeter, United Kingdom
- Fabrice Hernandez
- Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), Laboratoire d’Etudes en Géophysique et Océanographie Spatiales (LEGOS), Toulouse, France
- Patrick Hogan
- 0Naval Research Laboratory, Stennis Space Center, Bay St. Louis, MS, United States
- Lars R. Hole
- 1Department of Oceanography and Marine Meteorology, Norwegian Meteorological Institute, Bergen, Norway
- Jason Holt
- 2National Oceanography Centre, Liverpool, United Kingdom
- Guimei Liu
- 3Key Laboratory of Research on Marine Hazards Forecasting, National Marine Environmental Forecasting Center, Ministry of Natural Resources, Beijing, China
- Youyu Lu
- 4Bedford Institute of Oceanography, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Dartmouth, NS, Canada
- Pablo Lorente
- 5Puertos del Estado, Madrid, Spain
- Jan Maksymczuk
- Ocean Forecasting Research and Development, Met Office, Exeter, United Kingdom
- Matthew Martin
- Ocean Forecasting Research and Development, Met Office, Exeter, United Kingdom
- Avichal Mehra
- 6National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Adminstration (NOAA)/National Weather Service (NWS)/National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP), Environmental Modeling Center, College Park, MD, United States
- Arne Melsom
- 7Division for Ocean and Ice, Norwegian Meteorological Institute, Oslo, Norway
- Huier Mo
- 3Key Laboratory of Research on Marine Hazards Forecasting, National Marine Environmental Forecasting Center, Ministry of Natural Resources, Beijing, China
- Andrew Moore
- 8Ocean Sciences Department, University of California, Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA, United States
- Paolo Oddo
- 9North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) Science and Technology Organization, Centre for Maritime Research and Experimentation, La Spezia, Italy
- Ananda Pascual
- 0Mediterranean Institute for Advanced Studies (IMEDEA), Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), University of Balearic Islands (UIB), Esporles, Spain
- Anne-Christine Pequignet
- Ocean Forecasting Research and Development, Met Office, Exeter, United Kingdom
- Villy Kourafalou
- 1Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences (RSMAS), University of Miami, Miami, FL, United States
- Andrew Ryan
- Ocean Forecasting Research and Development, Met Office, Exeter, United Kingdom
- John Siddorn
- Ocean Forecasting Research and Development, Met Office, Exeter, United Kingdom
- Gregory Smith
- 2Meteorological Research Division, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Dorval, QC, Canada
- Deanna Spindler
- 6National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Adminstration (NOAA)/National Weather Service (NWS)/National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP), Environmental Modeling Center, College Park, MD, United States
- Todd Spindler
- 6National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Adminstration (NOAA)/National Weather Service (NWS)/National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP), Environmental Modeling Center, College Park, MD, United States
- Emil V. Stanev
- 3Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht, Institute of Coastal Research, Geesthacht, Germany
- Joanna Staneva
- 3Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht, Institute of Coastal Research, Geesthacht, Germany
- Andrea Storto
- 9North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) Science and Technology Organization, Centre for Maritime Research and Experimentation, La Spezia, Italy
- Clemente Tanajura
- 4Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Institute of Physics, Federal University of Bahia, Salvador, Brazil
- P. N. Vinayachandran
- 5Center for Atmospheric and Ocean Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, India
- Liying Wan
- 3Key Laboratory of Research on Marine Hazards Forecasting, National Marine Environmental Forecasting Center, Ministry of Natural Resources, Beijing, China
- Hui Wang
- 3Key Laboratory of Research on Marine Hazards Forecasting, National Marine Environmental Forecasting Center, Ministry of Natural Resources, Beijing, China
- Yu Zhang
- 3Key Laboratory of Research on Marine Hazards Forecasting, National Marine Environmental Forecasting Center, Ministry of Natural Resources, Beijing, China
- Xueming Zhu
- 3Key Laboratory of Research on Marine Hazards Forecasting, National Marine Environmental Forecasting Center, Ministry of Natural Resources, Beijing, China
- Ziqing Zu
- 3Key Laboratory of Research on Marine Hazards Forecasting, National Marine Environmental Forecasting Center, Ministry of Natural Resources, Beijing, China
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2019.00450
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 6
Abstract
Operational oceanography can be described as the provision of routine oceanographic information needed for decision-making purposes. It is dependent upon sustained research and development through the end-to-end framework of an operational service, from observation collection to delivery mechanisms. The core components of operational oceanographic systems are a multi-platform observation network, a data management system, a data assimilative prediction system, and a dissemination/accessibility system. These are interdependent, necessitating communication and exchange between them, and together provide the mechanism through which a clear picture of ocean conditions, in the past, present, and future, can be seen. Ocean observations play a critical role in all aspects of operational oceanography, not only for assimilation but as part of the research cycle, and for verification and validation of products. Data assimilative prediction systems are advancing at a fast pace, in tandem with improved science and the growth in computing power. To make best use of the system capability these advances would be matched by equivalent advances in operational observation coverage. This synergy between the prediction and observation systems underpins the quality of products available to stakeholders, and justifies the need for sustained ocean observations. In this white paper, the components of an operational oceanographic system are described, highlighting the critical role of ocean observations, and how the operational systems will evolve over the next decade to improve the characterization of ocean conditions, including at finer spatial and temporal scales.
Keywords
