An operational forecast modeling system for the Mississippi Sound/Bight

An operational forecast modeling system for the Mississippi (MS) Sound/Bight has been developed. The system integrates a triple nested coastal ocean forecast modeling systems and a meteorological forecast model. The Mississippi Sound/Bight model based on ECOMSED, forms the central core of the operational forecast system. At its eastern and southern boundaries, the ECOMSED is coupled to a regional Gulf of Mexico (GOM) model in a manner that ensures seamless energy transfer between the two models. Meteorological forcing is provided by the Coupled Ocean/Atmospheric Mesoscale Prediction System, COAMPS. The forecast system automatically retrieves all available real-time river discharge data along the Gulf coast to be imposed as coastal boundary conditions. The operational MS Sound/Bight forecast model produces two 12-hour hindcast and two 48-hour forecasts everyday at 0000 and 1200 hours. The system is scheduled to run for 12 hours in a hindcast mode and then 48 hours in a forecast mode. However, these simulation periods can vary. Depending on the availability and lengths of inputs from the coupled GOM and COAMPS models, the operational system automatically sets the periods for hindcast and forecast simulations. The model saves the proper hydrodynamic information for a restart so that a smooth and seamless execution is possible to start the next cycle. All of the simulations of the model are performed and archived on the Major Shared Resource Center (MSRC) high-performance computers resident at NAVOCEANO, Stennis Space Center, MS. The archived model output includes hourly three-dimensional fields of salinity, temperature and currents and water level across the model domain. Quality control is performed before the results go to a post-processing phase. A post-processing routine, which runs autonomously, generates surface current, temperature and salinity distributions after the completion of each cycle of forecast. The model results are available on the NGLI website (www.navo.navy.mil/NGLI) for public use.