New developments on the New Zealand Ocean Operational Forecast System presented at FOO19

Last week, MetOcean’s Research and Development Science Team Leader, Dr João Marcos Souza, presented the latest developments on MetOcean’s operational forecast system and on Moana Project at The Australian Forum for Operational Oceanography 2019 (FOO 2019).

The operational forecast system is constituted by a mix of Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS) and Semi-implicit Cross-scale Hydroscience Integrated System Model (SCHISM) domains to evaluate and predict ocean circulation and properties, and also WaveWatch III (WW3) and Simulating Waves Nearshore (SWAN) which are used for simulating surface gravity waves. An architecture based on docker images and controlled by an “in house” built python based scheduler ensures a stable and robust system.

Operational forecast system - general architecture concept

Current operational forecast models

To improve our current capability, the Moana Project team is working towards developing a reliable ocean estate estimate using state-of-the-art observations assimilation for the oceans around New Zealand. The efforts aim to model and forecast several ocean processes at a variety of spatial and temporal scales. This work will play an important role on the New Zealand Integrated Ocean Observing System (O’Callaghan et al., 2019).

Towards an integrated ocean observing system for New Zealand, from O’Callaghan et al. (2019)

“Having a reliable forecast system of the ocean estate is strategic for the country’s economy, community and environmental safety and resilience, says Dr João Marcos.

New developments underway include the use of non-structured model grids, 4DVar data assimilation of global and local observations in a national scale, wave-circulation coupling, and the use of cloud based computational resources. 

At FOO 2019, Metocean Solutions team was also represented by The Moana Project’s programme director and MetService’s Head of Research Partnerships, Professor Moninya Roughan.

The third FOO was held on the 15-16 October 2019 in Melbourne, Australia. It is a forum for discussions relating to all matters of operational oceanography,  including requirements of stakeholders, industry and interested parties, and also for scientific and technical discussions. Visit https://www.foo.org.au/ to learn more.

The full abstract can be found here. For more information about the Moana Project and the New Zealand Ocean Operational Forecast System, contact us at enquires@metocean.co.nz