The proposal will address these questions via a synergistic analysis of the swot observations, numerical simulations, and in-situ and other observations. We will confront numerical simulations with…

This federal contract award is a grant for research valued at $289,613 awarded by a civilian federal agency, the Shared Services Center, to the non-profit organization The Nature Conservancy (TNC). The grant will fund a synergistic analysis of SWOT observations, numerical simulations, and in-situ/other observations to advance understanding of and identify solutions for high priority problems in ocean and climate prediction models. The award includes a strategic program of Lagrangian drifter deployments from the remote Palmyra Atoll in the central equatorial Pacific to significantly increase observations of surface velocity and gradients for evaluating and calibrating satellite current products in the tropics. This grant award is not associated with any set-aside designation. TNC has a significant Blanket Purchase Agreement with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for support and transportation services at the Palmyra Atoll National Wildlife Refuge, demonstrating its capabilities in providing specialized environmental management and research support services to federal agencies.

The proposal will address these questions via a synergistic analysis of the swot observations, numerical simulations, and in-situ and other observations. We will confront numerical simulations with data to advance understanding of and identify solutions for high priority problems in ocean and climate prediction models. At the same time, we will use the models to help US interpret the physics of the swot observations, which can be difficult to understand due to the short timescales of submesoscale variability relative to swot's standard 21-day resample period. Finally, we will use other observations to understand the meaning of the swot observations and address our questions. Most significantly, we will conduct a strategic program of lagrangian drifter deployments from the remote palmyra atoll in the central equatorial pacific to significantly increase observations of surface velocity and gradients from drifters for evaluating and calibrating satellite current products in the tropics.