Ocean data assimilation has matured to the point that observations are now routinely combined with model forecasts to produce a variety of ocean products. Approaches to ocean data assimilation vary widely both in terms of the sophistication of the method and the observations assimilated, and also in terms of specification of the forecast error covariances, model biases, observation errors, and quality-control procedures. In this paper, we describe some of the ocean data assimilation systems that have been developed within the Global Ocean Data Assimilation Experiment (GODAE) community. We discuss assimilation methods, observations assimilated, and techniques used to specify error covariances. In addition, we describe practical implementation aspects and present analysis performance results for some of the analysis systems. Finally, we describe plans for improving the assimilation systems in the post-GODAE time period beyond 2008.

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