(VIRGINIA KEY, FL, March 2, 2006) – Shipping companies can route
ships more safely and efficiently. Ocean search-and-rescue can
operate more effectively. Meteorologists and climatologists now
have a tool to provide long-range weather prediction more
accurately. Navies too can perform more accurate anti-submarine
surveillance. And environmental managers now have a mechanism to
track pollution, algal blooms, or emergent situations such as
oil spills. And, this is all due to a unique three-dimensional
ocean model that has been developed by Rosenstiel School
researchers in collaboration with scientists at the Naval
Research Laboratory. Featured in the March issue of
Oceanography, the HYbrid Coordinate Ocean Model (HYCOM) is the
critical part of data assimilative systems at the Naval Research
Laboratory and at NOAA's National Center for Environmental
Prediction. The Navy will tap the velocities, temperature, and
salinities of the HYCOM prediction system to force smaller
models that provide even higher resolution t