On February 13, 2013, the US Navy’s weather forecast system reached a milestone when the NAVy Global Environmental Model (NAVGEM) replaced the Navy Operational Global Atmospheric Prediction System (NOGAPS) for operational global weather prediction. The new operational system NAVGEM 1.1 combines a semi-Lagrangian/semi-implicit dynamical core together with advanced parameterizations of subgrid-scale moist processes, convection, ozone, and radiation. The NAVGEM dynamical core allows for much higher spatial resolutions without the need for the small time steps that would be necessary in NOGAPS. The increased computational efficiency is expected to enable significant increases in resolution in future NAVGEM releases. Model physics improvements in the NAVGEM 1.1 transition include representations of cloud liquid water, cloud ice water, and ozone as fully predicted constituents. Following successful testing of a new mass flux scheme, a second transition to NAVGEM 1.2 occurred on November 6, 2013. Addition of this mass flux parameterization to the eddy diffusion vertical mixing parameterization resulted in a reduction of the cold temperature bias of the lower troposphere over ocean and further increased the forecast skill of NAVGEM.

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