A global ocean reanalysis product in the China Ocean Reanalysis (CORA) project

The first version of a global ocean reanalysis over multiple decades (1979–2008) has been completed by the National Marine Data and Information Service within the China Ocean Reanalysis (CORA) project. The global ocean model employed is based upon the ocean general circulation model of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. A sequential data assimilation scheme within the framework of 3D variational (3DVar) analysis, called multi-grid 3DVar, is implemented in 3D space for retrieving multiple-scale observational information. Assimilated oceanic observations include sea level anomalies (SLAs) from multi-altimeters, sea surface temperatures (SSTs) from remote sensing satellites, and in-situ temperature/salinity profiles.