LONG-TERM GOALS

Use the HYbrid Coordinate Ocean Model (HYCOM) with tides, dynamic sea ice, and data assimilation in an eddy-resolving, fully global ocean prediction system with 1/25 ° horizontal resolution that will run in real time at the Naval Oceanographic Office (NAVOCEANO) starting in FY13. The model will include shallow water and provide boundary conditions to finer resolution coastal models that may use HYCOM or a different model. OBJECTIVES To develop, evaluate, and investigate the dynamics of 1/25 ° global HYCOM (HYbrid Coordinate Ocean Model) with tides coupled to CICE (Los Alamos Community Ice CodE) with atmospheric forcing only, with data assimilation via NCODA (NRL Coupled Ocean Data Assimilation), and in forecast mode. Also to incorporate advances in dynamics and physics from the science community into the HYCOM established and maintained within the Navy. APPROACH Traditional ocean models use a single coordinate type to represent the vertical, but no single approach is optimal for the global ocean. Isopycnal (density tracking) layers are best in the deep stratified ocean, pressure levels (nearly fixed depths) provide high vertical resolution in the mixed layer, and σ