The Bureau of Meteorology Research Centre (BMRC) ocean subsurface thermal analysis system is described. The emphasis is placed on routine, systematic operation using objective methods with minimal manual intervention. The horizontal domain is global with one degree resolution and nineteen analysis levels down to a depth of 1000 m. The analysis period is one month. It is shown that the real-time analysis products are able to capture the low-frequency, large-scale variability that is characteristic of the tropical oceans. Objective quality-control measures are an effective and integral part of the system. Comparison with various other systems indicates that the BMRC system is delivering a product of comparable or better quality. A climatology for the 1980-1992 period is presented and compared with published climatologies. Various indices Of system performance and of the performance of individual platforms are presented. The statistics suggest the scheme is effective but not optimal. The system is least effective during the extremes of inter-annual variability and through some parts of the seasonal cycle. The root mean square observed value minus analysis difference averaged over various regions indicates the analysis system is faithfully representing the thermal structure. Statistics for some individual ships and buoys are also presented.
Neville Smith (Thu,) studied this question.