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Evaluation of tropical Pacific observing systems using NCEP and GFDL ocean data assimilation systems

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Abstract

The TAO/TRITON array is the cornerstone of the tropical Pacific and ENSO observing system. Motivated by the recent rapid decline of the TAO/TRITON array, the potential utility of TAO/TRITON was assessed for ENSO monitoring and prediction. The analysis focused on the period when observations from Argo floats were also available. We coordinated observing system experiments (OSEs) using the global ocean data assimilation system (GODAS) from the National Centers for Environmental Prediction and the ensemble coupled data assimilation (ECDA) from the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory for the period 2004–2011. Four OSE simulations were conducted with inclusion of different subsets of in situ profiles: all profiles (XBT, moorings, Argo), all except the moorings, all except the Argo and no profiles. For evaluation of the OSE simulations, we examined the mean bias, standard deviation difference, root-mean-square difference (RMSD) and anomaly correlation against observations and objective analyses. Without assimilation of in situ observations, both GODAS and ECDA had large mean biases and RMSD in all variables. Assimilation of all in situ data significantly reduced mean biases and RMSD in all variables except zonal current at the equator. For GODAS, the mooring data is critical in constraining temperature in the eastern and northwestern tropical Pacific, while for ECDA both the mooring and Argo data is needed in constraining temperature in the western tropical Pacific. The Argo data is critical in constraining temperature in off-equatorial regions for both GODAS and ECDA. For constraining salinity, sea surface height and surface current analysis, the influence of Argo data was more pronounced. In addition, the salinity data from the TRITON buoys played an important role in constraining salinity in the western Pacific. GODAS was more sensitive to withholding Argo data in off-equatorial regions than ECDA because it relied on local observations to correct model biases and there were few XBT profiles in those regions. The results suggest that multiple ocean data assimilation systems should be used to assess sensitivity of ocean analyses to changes in the distribution of ocean observations to get more robust results that can guide the design of future tropical Pacific observing systems.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank support from the NOAA Climate Observation Division of Climate Program Office for this study. We also thank two anonymous reviewers, Dr. Zeng-Zhen Hu and Dr. Jieshun Zhu for their constructive comments and suggestions on this paper. The scientific results and conclusions, as well as any view or opinions expressed herein, are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of NWS, NOAA, or the Department of Commerce.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Cimate Prediction Center, NCEP/NWS/NOAA, 5830 University Research Court, Room 3005, College Park, MD, 20740, USA

    Yan Xue, Caihong Wen & Arun Kumar

  2. Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, OAR/NOAA, Princeton, NJ, USA

    Xiaosong Yang, Gabriel Vecchi, Anthony Rosati & Rich Gudgel

  3. Environmental Modeling Center, NCEP/NWS/NOAA, College Park, MD, USA

    David Behringer

  4. University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO, USA

    Xiaosong Yang

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  1. Yan Xue
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  2. Caihong Wen
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  5. Arun Kumar
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  6. Gabriel Vecchi
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  7. Anthony Rosati
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  8. Rich Gudgel
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Correspondence to Yan Xue.

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This paper is a contribution to the special issue on Ocean estimation from an ensemble of global ocean reanalyses, consisting of papers from the Ocean Reanalyses Intercomparsion Project (ORAIP), coordinated by CLIVAR-GSOP and GODAE OceanView. The special issue also contains specific studies using single reanalysis systems.

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Xue, Y., Wen, C., Yang, X. et al. Evaluation of tropical Pacific observing systems using NCEP and GFDL ocean data assimilation systems. Clim Dyn 49, 843–868 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-015-2743-6

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