About Daniel Lea

Daniel works on developing the Forecasting Ocean Assimilation Model.

Areas of expertise:

•  Data assimilation techniques (OI, 3D-Var, 4D-Var).
• All aspects of the operational FOAM ocean forecasting system including verification and validation.
• NEMOVAR.
• Altimeter observation bias and model bias correction.
• The  NEMO ocean modelling system.

Publications by Dan 

Current activities

Daniel is partly responsible for maintenance and development of the data assimilation component of the FOAM system.

Daniel is currently working on developing NEMOVAR to replace the OI data assimilation code used in FOAM. This work includes comparing results from NEMOVAR with those of the current assimilation system and upgrading NEMOVAR to include observation and model bias correction schemes. Daniel is also working on upgrading the FOAM system to perform a two day hindcast, which will improve its accuracy by allowing the system to assimilate data which would otherwise be missed.

Career background

Daniel has worked in Ocean Forecasting Research and Development for two years. Highlights include implementing an altimeter bias scheme in FOAM and developing a comprehensive operational monitoring system which has lead to many improvements to the FOAM system.

Before that, from 2005 to 2007, he was a visiting scientist to Ocean Forecasting Research and Development from ESSC (University of Reading) working on altimeter bias correction and assimilation of data on density levels. From 2002 to 2005 he worked at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore on 4D-Var in a high resolution regional ocean model. Daniel's PhD work at the University of Oxford (1997 to 2001) was on 4D-Var assimilation of SST and SSH data into simplified high resolution ocean models.