Data coverage
The Unified Forecast System (UFS) is a community-based, coupled, comprehensive Earth Modeling System. It supports multiple applications with different forecast durations and spatial domains. The Global Data Assimilation System (GDAS) Application (App) is being used as the basis for uniting the Global Workflow and Global Forecast System (GFS) model with Joint Effort for Data assimilation Integration (JEDI) capabilities. The National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) use GDAS to interpolate data from various observing systems and instruments onto a three-dimensional grid. GDAS obtains its data through several observation types: surface, balloon, wind profilers, aircraft reports, buoys, radar, and satellite. This gridded output data is then used to initialize the GFS model. GDAS can be used in standalone mode to run forward operators and variational data assimilation (DA) for evaluation/development purposes. In the GDAS App, it supports GFS/GDAS cycled forecasts in the Global Workflow. Currently, GDAS primarily uses GSI for its data assimilation and cycling, but efforts are underway to replace GSI with JEDI.
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