The ocean forecast system, Ocean Model Analysis and Prediction System (OceanMAPS), has been operational in the Australian Bureau of Meteorology since August 2007. The OceanMAPS was delivered from the development of the BLUElink projects. It provides daily analyses and forecasts of ocean temperature, salinity, sea level and currents up to 7 days lead time.

The observational data used in the OceanMAPS come from satellite altimetry and Sea Surface Temperature (SST) observations, as well as in-situ profiles.

New satellite data are regularly introduced into the operational OceanMAPS to improve forecasts and replace decommissioned sources. Jason-3 data were added to the system in December 2016, Suomi-NPP VIIRS SST in November 2017, and Sentinel-3A in April 2018.

This study evaluates the impact of the new satellite observations on the OceanMAPS by comparing the results from parallel experiments with and without the new data. The impact on the performance of OceanMAPS is discussed and verification is presented.