State Estimation of the Ocean
Over the past five years a major advance has been taking place in oceanography: for the
first time we have global oceanic observations, sufficiently accurate general circulation
models, and the technical knowledge to produce three dimensional time-evolving estimates
of the ocean circulation day-by-day. Demonstrating and scientifically exploiting these new
tools has been the focus of intense effort within EAPS over the past 10 years, and has
involved students, faculty, post-docs and visitors. We have uniquely combined expertise in
the observed ocean, numerical modeling, computers, and statistical estimation methods
(sometimes called "assimilation") to make the goals practical.
This work continues as part of the ECCO Consortium (for Estimating the Circulation and
Climate of the Ocean). Much more information can be found on the ECCO website or on the websites and links of the MIT
faculty involved: John
Marshall
and Carl Wunsch.
