Comparison of methods for argo drifters data assimilation into a hydrodynamical model of the ocean

Abstract

Different data assimilation methods such as an extended Kalman filter, the optimal interpolation method, and a method based on the Fokker-Planck equation applications are considered. Data from the ARGO drifters are assimilated into the HYCOM shallow water model (University of Miami, USA). Throughout the study, the schemes and methods of parallel computations with an MPI library are used. The results of the computations with assimilations are compared between themselves and with independent observations. The method based on the Fokker-Planck equation and the extended Kalman filter are preferable because they give better results than the optimal interpolation scheme. The various model characteristics of the ocean, such as the heat content fields and others, are analyzed after the data assimilation.