Optimal Sampling Strategies for Oceanic Applications

摘要

The long-term goals of this project are to improve our ability to monitor and predict the ocean circulation through the assessment and design of ocean observing systems; and through the development of practical methods for ocean data assimilation. We seek to develop new approaches, and to apply existing methods, to the problem of observing system design and assessment. This involves the establishment of a methodology and practical capability to support the routine assessment of the ocean observing system; to apply these capabilities to gain insight into the potential benefits of future observation types for data assimilating models; and to support operational groups in the design of new observing systems, either for specific targeted activities or for monitoring programs. A range of different approaches to observing system design and assessment have been exploited under this project. These include traditional methods, including Observing System Experiments (OSEs) and Observing System Simulation Experiments (OSSEs), and new methods that draw on aspects of data assimilation theory. We have applied these tools to the assessment and design of ocean observing systems on a range of scales and applications. This includes an assessment of the relative importance of different components of the global ocean observing system (GOOS), the design of a tropical mooring array, and an assessment of the potential benefits of different shelf observation platforms to a data assimilating model. A summary of OSE and OSSE activities conducted under the Global Ocean Data Assimilation Experiment (GODAE), an international effort in the development of ocean forecast and analysis capabilities, is described by Oke et al. (2009a).