Global Model Test Bed: Fostering Community Involvement in NOAA's Next-Generation Global Prediction System

The overarching objective for the NOAA R2O Initiative is the design, development, and implementation of the Next-Generation Global Prediction System (NGGPS), with a goal to provide enhanced forecasting capability from a few hours to 30 days. The NGGPS is a full earth-system model, with components including non-hydrostatic atmosphere, ocean, wave, sea ice, land surface, aerosol, and space weather. Initial NGGPS development is expected to be a five-year community effort, leading to operational implementation in the 2019 fiscal year.

Since the NWS is placing significant emphasis in community involvement for the initial development and subsequent upgrades of NGGPS, NOAA has established a Global Model Test Bed (GMTB) within the Developmental Testbed Center (DTC). This initiative complements ongoing activity in the DTC, such as the design of the NWP Information Technology Environment (NITE), related to facilitating the community use of NCEP operational NWP suites. GMTB and NITE have some aspects in common, such as implementing code management best practices and providing input datasets so that researchers can run NCEP operational models.

In its first year, GMTB will focus on facilitating the use, modification, and possible addition of physics suites to the GFS and other models participating in NGGPS. To that effect, GMTB will establish a “test harness” to enable in-depth investigation of various physical parameterizations. In addition, GMTB will be involved in the selection process for a NGGPS sea ice model, by working with the operational and research communities to define selection criteria and conduct initial testing. In this presentation we will review the GMTB charge and the work conducted in its first few months of existence, as well as discuss how GMTB fits within to the broader picture of NGGPS development.