The USGODAE Monterey Data Server

With oversight from the U.S. Global Ocean Data Assimilation Experiment (GODAE) Steering Committee and funding from the Office of Naval Research, the USGODAE Monterey Data Server has been established at the Fleet Numerical Meteorology and Oceanography Center (FNMOC) as an explicit U.S. contribution to GODAE. Support of the Monterey Data Server is accomplished by a cooperative effort between FNMOC and NOAA's Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory (PMEL) in the on-going development of the server and the support of a collaborative network of GODAE assimilation groups. This server hosts near real-time in-situ oceanographic data, atmospheric forcing fields suitable for driving ocean models, and unique GODAE data sets, including demonstration ocean model products. GODAE is envisioned as a global system of observations, communications, modeling and assimilation, which will deliver regular, comprehensive information on the state of the oceans in a way that will promote and engender wide utility and availability of this resource for maximum benefit to society. It aims to make ocean monitoring and prediction a routine activity in a manner similar to weather forecasting. GODAE will contribute to an information system for the global ocean that will serve interests from climate and climate change to ship routing and fisheries. The USGODAE Server is developed and operated as a prototypical node for this global information system. Because of the broad range and diverse formats of data used by the GODAE community, presenting data with a consistent interface and ensuring its availability in standard formats is a primary challenge faced by the USGODAE Server project. To this end, all USGODAE data sets are available via HTTP and FTP. In addition, USGODAE data are served using Local Data Manager (LDM), THREDDS cataloging, OPeNDAP, and Live Access Server (LAS) from PMEL. Every effort is made to serve USGODAE data through the standards specified by the National Virtual Ocean Data System (NVODS) and the Integrated Ocean Observing System Data Management and Communications (IOOS/DMAC). To provide surface forcing, fluxes, and boundary conditions for ocean model research, USGODAE serves global data from the Navy Operational Global Atmospheric Prediction System (NOGAPS) and regional data from the Coupled Ocean/Atmosphere Mesoscale Prediction System (COAMPS). Global meteorological data and observational data from the FNMOC Ocean QC process are posted in near real-time to USGODAE. These include T/S profiles, in-situ and satellite sea surface temperature (SST), satellite altimetry, and SSM/I sea ice. They contain all of the unclassified in-situ and satellite observations used to initialize the FNMOC NOGAPS model. Also, the Naval Oceanographic Office provides daily satellite SST and SSH retrievals to USGODAE. The USGODAE Server functions as one of two Argo Global Data Assembly Centers (GDACs), hosting the complete collection of quality-controlled Argo T/S profiling float data. USGODAE Argo data are served through OPeNDAP and LAS, providing complete integration into NVODS and the IOOS/DMAC. Due to its high reliability, ease of data access, and increasing breadth of data, the USGODAE Server is becoming an invaluable resource for both the GODAE community and the general oceanographic community. Continued integration of model, forcing, and in-situ data sets from providers throughout the world is making the USGODAE Monterey Data Server a key part of the international GODAE project.