Tuesday, May 11, 2021

Game-changer: Navy forecast R&D

Earth’s ocean-navigating environment got a little less mysterious thanks to the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory-developed Navy Earth System Prediction Capability (ESPC) global forecasting system that went live last August. Navy ESPC V1 provides the Navy with the first ever high-resolution ensemble capability for the ocean and sea ice that delivers both ensemble mean forecasts as well as a measure of uncertainty up to 45 days out. “Atmosphere, ocean and sea-ice conditions affect naval operations,” said Carolyn Reynolds, a meteorologist at NRL’s Marine Meteorology Division in Monterey, Calif. This new system provides environmental forecast information that fills the gap between weather and climate timescales to advise decision makers, she says. “ESPC is enabling higher-level Navy preparation for subseasonal-to-seasonal prediction,” said Bill Kerr, technical director at the Fleet Numerical Meteorological and Oceanography Center (FNMOC). “(K)nowing ahead of time the typhoon season in the Western Pacific will be particularly light or particularly heavy allows better force protection preparation and application of resources.” The technology payoff is still in the future, but ESPC is becoming a testbed for Navy R&D. “It’s … going to be game-changer for environmental forecasting.” NRL is a scientific and engineering command dedicated to research that drives innovative advances for the Navy and Marine Corps, and information domain. NRL is located in Washington, D.C., with major field site at Stennis Space Center, Miss. (Source: NRL 05/11/21) Navy Forecasting Provides 45-day Advanced Environmental Predictions > United States Navy > News-Stories

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