WAVEWATCH III (registered trademark): Transition to Naval Operations

Knowledge of the sea state and thus predictions of wave conditions in real-time are important for naval operations. Two operational centers provide such support. Fleet Numerical Meteorology and Oceanography Center FNMOC in Monterey, California, produces and delivers wave forecasts covering large spatial scales and long time scales -- for example, global 120-hour forecast fields of significant wave height -- to support general operations. The Naval Oceanographic Office NAVOCEANO at Stennis Space Center, Mississippi, provides small-scale wave forecasts covering shorter intervals to support specific missions involving littoral waters and surf zones. The Naval Research Laboratory NRL at Stennis Space Center has been the primary transition partner with NAVOCEANO and FNMOC for enabling technologies in wave forecasting for small and large scales. Now, in cooperation with the National Centers for Environmental Prediction NOAANCEP, the latest version v. 4.10 of the WAVEWATCH III registered trademark WW3 wave model is being transitioned to NAVOCEANO and FNMOC, with additional updates coming later in 2013. As part of this transition, NRL has developed and tested a system that uses the multi-grid implementation of WW3 at NAVOCEANO as an improvement to the current systems in place NAVOCEANO runs a set of large-scale domains around the world to provide wave energy boundary conditions to smaller scale regional wave models. In addition, NRL is providing upgrades to the system to include curvilinear gridded domains, e.g., to cover the Arctic Ocean.