A RAPIDLY RELOCATABLE OCEAN PREDICTION SYSTEM

Accurate ocean forecast requires and combines knowledge in physics, mathematics, computer sciences, drawing greatest advantage of the new technologies for access, analysis and distribution of the data. We will describe NCOM_OS, a portable, relocatable, and user-friendly prediction system based on the Naval Coastal Ocean Model (NCOM). The system has been developed and routinely applied in support of naval operation. With this product, analysis and prediction can be provided for any part of the word, usually within six hours of the request. For a rapid configuration, a set of data and products are available on a global scale (bathymetry, forecasted winds, analysis of the remote sensing data). These products are generally on a low resolution and the system has the capability of replacing them with local and high-resolution databases. The simulations are usually on multiple 1-way nesting domains. The open boundary conditions for the outer nest are extracted from a operational, real-time global version of NCOM with approximately 1/8o resolution at mid-latitudes. We will present the results from some real-time exercises in coastal areas. One of the current applications is in support of the Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) testing exercise off Panama City, Fla. A preliminary configuration started running in a pseudo-operational mode (real-time forecast with forecasted winds) on August 15 2004. We will present this configuration and discuss how it was able to model in real-time the effects of Hurricanes Ivan and Katrina on the Gulf of Mexico and its coastal areas. 1