Course: Fundamentals of Ocean Forecasting

In the video, Babette Tchonang introduced data assimilation – the process that combines observations with a numerical model to produce the best possible estimate of the ocean. This reading gathers …

The last lecture showed what data assimilation is. This one, again with Babette Tchonang, answers the follow-up question: how do observations actually improve a forecast? The answer turns on a …

The last lecture introduced the many platforms that observe the ocean. This one, again with Frederic Bonou, asks a sharper question: if we have all these systems, why do we …

The first lecture explained why we observe the ocean. This one, again with Frederic Bonou, introduces the how – the global network of platforms that together watch the sea, and …

This first lecture, with Frederic Bonou, sets the foundation for the whole week: why we observe the ocean at all, and why those observations are the bedrock of ocean forecasting. …

Welcome to Week 4. In Week 3, you saw how numerical models turn the physics of the ocean into predictions. But a model on its own, however sophisticated, will drift …

You’ve reached the end of Week 3 – and with it, a clear view inside the computational heart of ocean forecasting. At the start of the week, a numerical ocean …

The video surveyed the models used around the world. This reading turns that survey into a reference you can return to – a curated tour of the major model families, …

Across the week you’ve built up what ocean models are, how they’re constructed, and their trade-offs. In this final lecture, Emanuela Clementi brings it all together by surveying the models …

In the video, Emanuela Clementi explained that no model can resolve everything – and that what it can’t resolve, it must represent instead. This reading looks closer at how that’s …

The last lecture showed that no matter how fine a model’s grid, some processes are always too small to capture. This lecture, with Emanuela Clementi, is about what a model …

The video introduced the grid as the mesh of points where a model does its calculations. This visual reading looks more closely at the grid choices a modeller makes – …

You’ve seen how a model is built. Now Emanuela Clementi turns to one of the most important choices of all: resolution – how finely the model divides space and time, …

In the video, Emanuela Clementi introduced resolution – how finely a model divides space and time. This reading looks closer at what that choice decides, and at the trade-off every …

In the video, Fernand Assene opened up an ocean model to show its building blocks. This reading gathers them in one place, so you can see how a model is …