Comparisons Between In Situ Profiles And The Arctic Cap Nowcast/Forecast System

The Arctic Cap Nowcast/Forecast System (ACNFS) is the Arctic Ocean model being utilized by the Naval Oceanographic Office. It is a fully two-way coupled ocean-ice model utilizing the Hybrid Coordinate Ocean Model (HYCOM), coupled to the Los Alamos Community Ice Code (CICE). It is forced using the Fleet Numerical Meteorology and Oceanography Center’s Navy Global Environmental Model (NAVGEM) atmospheric fields and assimilates remotely sensed and in situ data. A multi-way comparison is made for August and September 2015 data between in situ temperature-salinity, historical, and model profiles. A determination will be made as to which is best suited for operational use in the Arctic with regards to the vertical density structure. The model will be evaluated for accuracy and long-term trends and how well it represents the overall density structure.