Predicting the state of the ocean allows us to determine its likely effect on weather, to advise on maritime operations and safety, and to better understand long-term climate trends. At their heart, the ocean forecasting systems that make these predictions use mathematical models and physical laws to describe the evolution of the ocean in four dimensions, analogous to the approaches meteorologists use to forecast the weather. These models allow us to inform future ocean circulation and sea state. To make these predictions as reliable as possible, a large volume of frequently updated measurements has to be included in the models via assimilation. While these measurements include situ observations, satellite altimetry is a particularly valuable data source, providing a near-global, high-density record of sea surface heights that integrate what is happening from the ocean floor to the surface. Consequently, these models rely extensively on the near real-time and multi-decadal data streams provided by operational satellite altimetry missions, including those under the Copernicus Programme, Sentinel-3 and Sentinel-6.
The short course will consist of a 2-hour webinar on May 7 (12:00 – 14:00 UTC). During the event we will describe the relevant altimetry data sets for ocean forecasters, giving practical examples of how to handle them in the form of open-source Jupyter Notebooks. Following this, ocean forecasting experts will detail how these data sets are incorporated into their systems, giving examples of relevant applications of the systems, and providing their perspectives. The course will be led by experts from both EUMETSAT and Mercator Ocean International, who together bring extensive expertise in altimetry and the development of ocean forecasting systems. The webinar will conclude with a Q&A and feedback session.