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Operational Oceanography in the 21st Century pp 123–151Cite as

Observing System Design and Assessment

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Abstract

The use of models and data assimilation tools to aid the design and assessment of ocean observing systems is increasing. The most commonly used technique for evaluating the relative importance of existing observations is Observing System Experiments (OSEs), and Observing System Simulation Experiments (OSSEs). OSEs are useful for looking back, to evaluate the relative importance of existing of past observational components, while OSSEs are useful for looking forward, to evaluate the potential impact of future observational components. Other methods are useful for looking at the present, and are therefore most useful for adaptive sampling programs. These include analysis self-sensitivities, and a range of ensemble-based and adjoint-based techniques, including breeding, adjoint sensitivity, and singular vectors. In this chapter, the concepts for observing system design and assessment are introduced. A variety of different methods are then described, including examples of oceanographic applications of each method.

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Acknowledgments

Financial support for this research is provided by CSIRO, the Bureau of Meteorology, and the Royal Australian Navy as part of the Bluelink project, and the US Office of Naval Research (Grant No. N00014-07-1-0422). Satellite altimetry is provided by NASA, NOAA, ESA and CNES. Drifter data are provided by NOAA-AOML and SST observations are provided by NASA, NOAA and Remote Sensing Systems. Argo data are provided by the Coriolis and USGODAE data centres.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. CAWCR, CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research and Wealth from Oceans National Research Flagship, 7001, Hobart, TAS, Australia

    Peter R. Oke & Terence J. O’Kane

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  1. Peter R. Oke
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  2. Terence J. O’Kane
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Correspondence to Peter R. Oke .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Australian Weather &, Climate Research, Bureau of Meteorology, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

    Andreas Schiller

  2. Centre for Australian Weather &, Climate Research, Bureau of Meteorology, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

    Gary B. Brassington

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Oke, P.R., O’Kane, T.J. (2011). Observing System Design and Assessment. In: Schiller, A., Brassington, G. (eds) Operational Oceanography in the 21st Century. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-0332-2_5

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