Joint ECMWF/OceanPredict workshop on Advances in Ocean Data Assimilation

The U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS) forms the backbone of real-time ocean analysis-forecast systems of U.S. territorial waters. In addition to satellite remote sensing, the IOOS is augmented with in situ observations from a variety of platforms including Argo floats, buoys and gliders. In addition, remote sensing observations of surface currents are also available from an extensive national network of coastal HF radars. Maintenance of these observing systems is obviously labor-intensive and costly. Routine monitoring of the impact of data from each element of the observing network is therefore recognized as an important activity, not only for maintaining the array and demonstrating its value, but also as an aid for planning future expansions of the observing system. This talk will focus on current efforts to quantify forecast sensitivity to observations (FSO) in analysis-forecast systems of the U.S. west coast and east coast circulations.