Advancing an Ensemble-Based, Multi-Scale Ocean Data Assimilation System for Climate Applications

Objectives: The primary objective of the ITT, titled C3S2_601_bis, is to advance the ocean data assimilation system at ECMWF. It aims to enhance the use of observational data to support the development of next-generation climate reanalyses. The focus is on establishing a reliable, statistically self-consistent multi-scale ocean Ensemble Data Assimilation system. Key areas include improving ensemble generation techniques, developing models for anisotropic and multi-scale background error covariance, enhancing 4D-Var capabilities, and advancing modelling of correlated observation errors. An additional objective is to develop a capability for assimilating Level 2 Sea Surface Temperature observations.