Advancing an Ensemble-Based, Multi-Scale Ocean Data Assimilation System for Climate Applications

European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF)

About 

ECMWF, as the Entrusted Entity for the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), invites tenders to help advance the ocean data assimilation methodology in support of climate applications, specifically Earth System reanalyses and initialisation of seasonal forecasts. The tender is an Open Procedure with a total value of 1 350 000,00 EUR.

The Challenge  

The challenge focuses on advancing ECMWF’s Ocean data assimilation capabilities in order to more effectively integrate observational data and support the development of next-generation climate analyses. The primary objective is to establish a statistically robust and internally consistent multi-scale ocean Ensemble of Data Assimilation (EnDA) system. This involves addressing several technical and scientific challenges, including improving methods for ensemble generation, developing more refined background error covariance models that account for anisotropic and multi-scale features, operationalising enhanced 4D-Var (four-dimensional variational) data assimilation techniques, and improving the treatment of correlated observational errors. The ultimate goal is to produce a more accurate and reliable representation of the ocean state, which is critical for climate monitoring, forecasting, and long-term reanalysis efforts.

Timeframe

Deadline for Submitting Proposals: 13/08/2025 - 16:00:00 (UTC+2) Eastern European Time, Central European Summer Time

Who can apply  

The tender is open to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), as well as other entities, as specified in the procedure's descriptive document.

How to apply 

You can find here all the details of the procedure.

The SPIN4EIC consortium is not responsible for the challenges launched by private or public buyers. Each participating entity is solely responsible for its own challenge, including the selection process, communication with applicants, and all information provided to participants.