This project will explore scientific and technological methodologies to improve the performance of the salish sea and columbia river operational forecast system (SSCOFS)

This federal Cooperative Agreement award, funded by the Department of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration under the Cooperative Institute (Inter-Agency Funded Activities) program (CFDA 11.405), will provide $180,000.00 from October 1, 2023 to September 30, 2025 to the University of Washington to explore scientific and technological methodologies to improve the performance of the Salish Sea and Columbia River Operational Forecast System (SSCOFS). The key efforts include developing and applying methodologies for integrating more accurate bathymetric data to improve the system's accuracy for water levels and currents, increasing the vertical resolution to better resolve currents, temperature, and salinity throughout the water column, and refining and testing the grid along the shoreline to increase domain coverage and statistical forecast skill.

These improvements include developing and applying methodologies for integrating more accurate bathymetric, or sea floor map, data in order to improve the system's accuracy for water levels and currents. They also include increasing the vertical resolution in order to better resolve currents, temperature and salinity throughout the water column. Finally, in additional to statistical skill improvement, IT will also increase domain coverage by refining and testing the grid along the shoreline.