OceanMAPS Products

OceanMAPS Products

The Bureau of Meteorology’s operational ocean prediction system is an innovative development from the BLUElink project to provide nowcasts and short forecasts of the three dimensional ocean state (i.e., temperature, salinity and pressure). The prediction system provides high resolution (i.e.., 10km horizontally and 10m vertically over the top 200m) in the Australian region and adjacent marginal seas (e.g., Tasman, Coral, Arafura and Timor Seas). Note that at this point, the model does not include forcing by the sun and moon’s gravity, or atmospheric pressure, so there are no tides, and the storm-surge is the response to just the wind.

• See the OceanMAPs Brochure (PDF) »

OceanMAPS, the BLUElink> forecasting system, will produce operational products. It will take the following parameters:

• Model Timing – Hindcast, Nowcast (Analysis of Altimetry and in situ near real time), Forecast (7 days)
• Model Resolution – 1/10th deg horizontal (90-180E, south of 30N)
• Depths – 10 meters over the first 200 meters, then progressively coarser down to 5km. Minimum depth is 20 m.
• Area – Global, but very coarse resolution far from Australia

The model produced will depict the following variables:

3D Fields

• Potential temperature
• Salinity
• Current velocity(Meridional and Zonal components)

2D Fields

• Sea-level

Observational products

Regional 1/12deg SST analyses (real time & near real time)

Possible Products

• Sea Surface Temperature graphic + direction of currents
• Currents at different depths
• Sound speed at different depths
• Currents with direction and speed
• 3D temperature graphic
• Sea Surface Salinity graphic
• Temperature and Salinity cross-section