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March 5, 2024

MINUTES 001/2024 - Revision 005

Meeting of the Scientific Committee of the Ocean, Land Surface and Atmosphere Forecasting Model. At 10:00 am on March 5, 2024, representatives of INPE (National Institute for Space Research), INMET (National Institute of Meteorology), UFCG (Federal University of Campina Grande), USP (University of São Paulo), LNCC (National Laboratory for Scientific Computing), UFRJ (Federal University of Rio de Janeiro), UFMS (Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul), UFPA (Federal University of Pará), UFPel (Federal University of Pelotas), UECE (State University of Ceará), CENSIPAM (Management and Operational Center of the Amazon Protection System), FAB (Brazilian Air Force), MB (Brazilian Navy), MCTI (Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovations) and SMN (National Meteorological Service of Argentina) met virtually, with the aim of advancing the work and discussions of the Scientific Committee (CC). These minutes record the meeting and gather the information entered in the chat, such as links and other information relevant to the discussions held. Following the opening of the meeting, led by institutional coordinators Saulo Freitas/INPE and Pedro Dias/USP, this document is oriented according to the guidelines established by Saulo Freitas during his presentation.

At the start of the 10th CC meeting, Saulo Freitas invited Gilvan Sampaio ( Coordinator of the General Coordination of Earth Sciences at INPE ) to open the meeting. Gilvan Sampaio announced the receipt of funds for the purchase of INPE's new supercomputer, an amount worth approximately R$45,000,000.00 (forty-five million reais). He said that the funds were already in FUNCATE and that the documentation for the purchase bidding process was ready. Gilvan Sampaio said that the purchase process was complex, but that all pending issues related to it had been resolved. The second piece of news was the increase in the budget for MONAN, with R$800,000.00 (eight hundred thousand reais) being allocated from the CPTEC's PO (Budget Project). This budget will allow for the in-person MONAN workshop. Gilvan Sampaio comments that this is good news for INPE and MONAN, as it will improve working conditions within the scope of MONAN's development. Saulo Freitas then invites Pedro Dias to make his opening remarks.

Pedro Dias asks Gilvan Sampaio about the budget for the renovation of CPTEC's DC (Data Center), which should be allocated in the second installment. Gilvan Sampaio explains that the first installment is for the supercomputer and that the second is for the update of the CPTEC's DC air conditioning and power system. This is because other institutions will be allowed to use CPTEC's DC in a "colocation" format. Gilvan Sampaio adds that this update also includes the installation of a photovoltaic plant for generating electricity.

On the same subject, Haroldo Fraga asks Gilvan Sampaio when and how the other installments will be transferred. Gilvan Sampaio comments that these transfers are delayed and that it is necessary to fulfill the execution of the current installment of the project so that the others can be released. Gilvan Sampaio adds that the expectation is that the other installments will be released in the second half of 2024 or early 2025. In the discussion with other members of the MONAN CC, it was commented that 70% of the previous installment must be spent so that the next one can be released.

After the initial announcements made by Gilvan Sampaio and Saulo Freitas, in addition to questions from the members of the MONAN CC, Saulo Freitas announced the meeting agenda, citing the following items:

  1. General information and updates on financing;
  2. Proposal for the first community training course;
  3. Discussion of group activities planned for 2024 (Atmosphere, Surface, Ocean-Cryosphere, High Performance Processing and Data Assimilation);
  4. General discussion and next steps.

Agenda 1 – General information and update on financing

Among the activities of DIMNT/INPE (Division of Numerical Modeling of the Earth System of INPE) at MONAN in 2023/2024, Saulo mentions the analysis for the choice of the dynamic nucleus of MONAN, in addition to the visit of 2 researchers from DIMNT/INPE on two occasions to NCAR (National Center for Atmospheric Research). He also comments on the holding of an internal workshop on the use of MPAS/MONAN. It mentions the production of technical reports (published in the INPE library , also available on the MONAN website at https://monanadmin.github.io and on the MONAN CC website at https://monanadmin.github.io/monan_cc_docs/relatorios/ . In addition, it comments on the creation of the MONAN repository on GitHub (at https://github.com/monanadmin ), the installation of MONAN v0.1.0 on the INPE EGEON machine for use by DIMNT/INPE and by PGMET (Postgraduate Program in Meteorology) of INP and the production, on an experimental basis, of MPAS/MONAN. Saulo Freitas comments on the installation of continuous MONAN tests at DIMNT/INPE for daily production, in test mode, with initial conditions from NCEP (National Centers for Environmental Predictions).

Regarding the financial resources for MONAN, Saulo Freitas cites the 2024 Budget Bill (PLOA). For CPTEC, the 2023 budget was R$90,000.00 (ninety thousand reais) and the 2024 budget was R$900,000.00 (nine hundred thousand reais). Saulo Freitas mentions that the resources will be used to hire personnel for the development of MONAN software, in addition to expanding the structure of CPTEC's DC. Gilvan Sampaio adds that improvements to access to CPTEC's DC are also being planned, so that the community can also access the new supercomputer. In the form of colocation, it will be possible for other centers to use the physical structure of CPTEC's DC to install other machines. Saulo Freitas adds that CAPES (Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel) is offering 5 post-doctoral scholarships to work with MONAN (funded at a cost of R$500,000.00 – five hundred thousand reais, to be spent by 2026). Saulo Freitas comments that the MONAN project was presented by INPE to the FNDCT (National Fund for Scientific and Technological Development). This is an acknowledgement by INPE and the institutions, which sent letters of approval confirming their participation in the project. On this subject, Gilvan Sampaio comments that the terms of reference are with MCTI (Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation) and that there is a tendency for the project to be transformed into a public call instead of a commission. Haroldo Fraga questions whether the public call meets the value of the MONAN project. Gilvan Sampaio clarifies that the current government's tendency is to transform all commissions into public calls. From a legal standpoint, Saulo Freitas comments that they are working on two MOUs (Memorandum of Understanding), one with NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmosphere Administration) and another with NCAR. They also mention that there are 9 vacancies for DIMNT/INPE from the INPE competition.

Agenda 2 - Proposal for the first community training course

With the availability of resources, Saulo Freitas announces the holding of a two-week in-person training course on the use of MONAN, to be held in 2024. This initial course will serve to teach, firstly, the members of the MONAN CC how to use the model. The course is expected to be held in the city of São José dos Campos/SP. Then, Saulo Freitas invites Gilson de Paula to present the budget proposal for the training course.

Gilson de Paula comments that a budget was drawn up, considering a two-week event with estimated costs for daily rates, airfare, lodging, food, etc. He comments on the prices of airfares on different airlines, as well as different hotels in the city of São José dos Campos. In total, Gilson de Paula comments that the cost would be approximately R$400,000.00 (four hundred thousand reais), not counting international flights. Saulo Freitas comments on the possibility of bringing in NOAA and NCAR personnel to discuss critical aspects of MONAN's development, in addition to being an opportunity to seal agreements between the institutions. In the chat, Daniel Vila asks how MONAN's training is linked to the training to be offered by the WMO (World Meteorological Organization). Daniel Vila asks if the courses will be separate or if there will be some relationship between them. Saulo comments that he is aware of the discussions regarding the WMO course (which is a general course focused on Numerical Weather Prediction) and comments that there is still no convergence between the courses, but that this is a possibility. He also comments that the WMO course is likely to take place around August 2024. Daniel Vila adds that his idea is to join forces to facilitate the organization of both courses, in addition to which the people who will come to the WMO training will also take advantage of the opportunity to participate in the MONAN training, which represents the future in terms of modeling (a point for future discussion).

Enio Souza comments that a two-week training course is a bit excessive and that one week is more objective. He adds that this course will be suitable for people who are already beginning to model and they will learn about MONAN. In addition, the month of July is a more complicated period, as families set aside this time to be together (school holidays).

Agenda 3 - Discussion of group activities planned for 2024 (Atmosphere, Surface, Ocean-Cryosphere, High Performance Processing and Data Assimilation)

Following the agenda, Saulo Freitas invites Paulo Kubota to make a brief presentation on the organization of his group (atmosphere) around the developments of MONAN.

Paulo Kubota presents the work plan for 2024 of the numerical atmospheric modeling group at DIMNT/INPE regarding the development of MONAN. Paulo Kubota mentions that the work plan is focused on 2024, but that some points may extend to 2025. He comments that the objective is to improve knowledge of the interaction between all physical processes that act on the atmosphere, on the different known scales. The justification for the plan is to generate numerical products for very short-term (nowcasting), short-term (weather forecasting), subseasonal forecasting and climate forecasting, with high quality and competitive with other weather forecasting centers. The objective is to develop and implement new physical parameterizations that will be used on different scales. The work methodology proposed by the group involves testing and analyzing the results of the simulations and listing the deficiencies of MONAN, relating them to the physical processes. Paulo Kubota also mentions the research in the literature on the availability of new mathematical formulations for parameterizing physical processes at different scales, in addition to ensuring the improvement of MONAN simulations with the new implementations and the creation of a database with field observations, satellite estimates, and reanalysis data. Paulo Kubota introduces his team and the specialties of each one and then provides a detailed description of the group's activities. In the chat, Haroldo Fraga comments on whether there will be any specific project on reanalysis. Paulo Kubota responds that the database will consist of reanalysis data on regions that do not have much conventional observation data and that it will be used to verify MONAN.

Saulo Freitas thanks Paulo Kubota for the presentation and gives the floor to João Gerd, who presents the activities of the DIMNT/INPE data assimilation group for the development of MONAN.

João Gerd begins his speech by commenting on the activities that his group is developing. He mentions that at the beginning of this year (2024), the group began a discussion about activities internal to INPE, but that these activities converge towards MONAN. João Gerd comments on what has been done currently in data assimilation using BAM (Brazilian Atmospheric Model) v2.2.1 at spatial resolution TQ0299L064 (with a resolution of approximately 45 km over the Equator and with 64 levels in hybrid vertical coordinates) and the IBIS (Integrated Biosphere Simulator) surface model and that, currently, this activity includes bug fixes. He mentions that the GSI (Gridpoint Statistical Interpolation) system is being used for data assimilation, in version 3.7, with the capacity to assimilate millions of observations (including conventional and non-conventional observations) and that new sensors are being studied for inclusion in the process. He mentions the migration of computer codes to the GitHub platform , already thinking about alignment with MONAN developments and the connection with NCEP development repositories. Among the activities, he also mentions adjustments to the forecast error covariance matrix (B matrix), a performance monitoring system for the Numerical Modeling and Data Assimilation System (SMNA – the atmospheric data assimilation system composed of the BAM model and the GSI system). He also comments on the assimilation of surface data using temperature and atmospheric humidity data for soil moisture adjustments). Regarding the initialization of the MONAN model, he comments on the possibility of adapting the SMNA analysis, and it is necessary to talk to NCEP staff to understand their planning in terms of migration from one system to the other (i.e., from the GSI system to the JEDI system – Joint Effort for Data Assimilation Integration). He also comments on current assimilation developments that serve the JEDI system and the MPAS model. Mentions the covariance matrices (B and R – the covariance matrices of the forecast and observation errors, respectively), the H operator (forward model or observation operator) and the observations. The latter two are highly dependent on the other CPTEC divisions (the flow of observation data passes through the DISSM and DIPTC divisions of CGCT/INPE). Comments on the need for people working as observation operators, who are responsible for interpolating the model to the observation point during the data assimilation process. Regarding the implementation of the JEDI system in the MPAS model, mentions its structure and talks about the OOPS (Object-Oriented Prediction System), where the observation operators are implemented. Mentions the IODA components.(Interface for Observational Data Access) and the UFO (Unified Forward Operator) for adjusting the flow of observations and quality control. He also comments on the data assimilation methods available in JEDI and the development of data assimilation monitoring tools. João Gerd also comments on INPE's activities related to the atmospheric ensemble numerical forecasting system, such as the integration of subseasonal forecasting systems with the extended time scale, among other activities. He concludes by mentioning the group's members and collaborators.

Marcio Nirlando asks whether radar data for immediate forecasting (nowcasting) is being considered in the data assimilation for MONAN. João Gerd responds that it will be difficult to work on this subject in 2024, but that the team has experts. Saulo Freitas adds that there is a delivery schedule for MONAN and that the first one considers the weather forecast scale. He comments that, once this is done, the other scales will be addressed – including the nowcasting scale and radar data assimilation. Saulo Freitas takes the opportunity to invite the MONAN community to participate in the developments, although the presentations given reflect how INPE's divisions are organizing themselves to work with MONAN in 2024. Saulo Freitas adds that the MONAN CC group must also be called upon for the developments. Pedro Dias adds that some data assimilation modules can also be advanced with the participation of the CC members themselves. In the discussion, João Gerd emphasizes that it is important to agree with NCAR how the transition from GSI to JEDI will be carried out, so that efforts are well-dimensioned. Saulo Freitas comments that there will be a visit to NCAR this year (2024) so ​​that this can be made feasible, in addition to their visit to INPE. Haroldo Fraga comments that the assimilation of radar data is also important for the assimilation of rainfall and that he agrees with João Gerd about the impossibility of doing this in 2024. Despite this, he comments that this should be an activity to be carried out and that the way in which it will be done is another discussion. He adds that an agenda item should be the discussion of the assimilation of radar data within the scope of the MONAN CC and that if this is not a goal, it will be difficult to achieve.

Saulo Freitas gives the floor to Denis Eiras and Roberto Souto to talk about planning the activities of the PAD (High Performance Processing) group.

Denis Eiras begins his talk by mentioning the members of the PAD group. He then mentions the activities carried out within the scope of the development of the MONAN model, mentioning the extensive use of the Scrum tool on the GitHub platform, which has been very good for the group. He comments that one of the group's deliverables is an automation package for executing the MONAN model on the Egeon machine, which is available on the model's GitHub (for testing at 24 km horizontal resolution). He also comments that this package is being adapted for the Santos Dumont supercomputer at LNCC (National Laboratory for Scientific Computing) and that there are ongoing tests at Egeon (with a daily simulation with the initial condition from NCEP, in order to observe some aspects of the system's use and characteristics). In this sense, Denis Eiras mentions that there are some demands from CPTEC users (e.g., the inclusion of variables in post-processing and an interpolation system external to the MPAS code). In other activities, he mentions the development of an automatic code review tool, which verifies the standardization of written codes. Denis Eiras then hands the floor over to Roberto Souto.

Roberto Souto comments on the work carried out by LNCC in the scope of the development of the MONAN model. He mentions the development of a new, more modern and automated code assembly system, a tool for copying the code structure from MPAS to another in MONAN. Roberto Souto also mentions the use of the FPM (Fortran Package Manager) tool to compile the model code, the use of Fypp (Python Powered Fortran Metaprogramming); the separation of MPAS auxiliary tools and libraries into distinct tools and libraries of the model. He also mentions the new directory structure separating files by functions (e.g., source files, configuration files, etc.). For the year 2024, he mentions the following activities: preparation of the setup for simulations with 10 km horizontal resolution for the operation; final implementation and more robust testing of the new code assembly system (build setup and compilation of MONAN); container with test packages (at a horizontal resolution of 100 km) for laptops and desktops (container with the model for portability between machines); the implementation of new physical parameterizations; the automation of code reviews by integrating code into the repository (via GitHub actions); the development of more efficient post-processing tools; and the holding of a MONAN workshop. In the chat, Haroldo asks when the MONAN model container will be available. Carlos Bastarz comments that, during the course offered by Pedro Peixado on the MPAS model, they developed a Singularity container for using the model, with all the tools and libraries pre-installed (https://github.com/pedrospeixoto/MPAS-BR/tree/master/local_software/mpas-tools-br). Denis Eira comments that this development is also being considered by the PAD group. Francisco Junior asks Saulo Freitas and Roberto Souto about which version of MPAS they are working on on the MONAN GitHub. Roberto Souto responds by indicating that the MONAN version is a fork of NCAR's MPAS and that there will be an integration with the MPAS-BR version, maintained by Pedro Peixoto. Saulo Freitas adds that version 0.1 of MONAN is exactly version 8.0.1 of MPAS.

Saulo Freitas gives the floor to Ronald Buss to comment on some recent activities of the oceans and cryosphere group.

Ronald Buss introduces his group and internal and external collaborators. Next, Ronald Buss comments on some results presented at recent congresses and conferences. He mentions that the results he presented demonstrate the importance of certain processes in the ocean-atmosphere interaction and that they are important to be represented by models.

Ronald Buss gives the floor to Rosio Camayo to present the planning of the activities of the oceans and cryosphere group in the context of the development of the MONAN model. In his presentation, Rosio Camayo talks about the activities related to the numerical simulations of the models to be considered for the selection of the oceanic component of the MONAN model. He mentions the partnership with LOF-COPPE /UFRJ (Physical Oceanography Laboratory of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro), in collaboration with researcher Afonso Paiva and the team, and the elaboration of the work plan for this activity. He also mentions the implementation of the LOF/UFRJ oceanic forecasting system to support the MONAN program initiative. He comments on the elaboration of the work plan for the definition of the oceanic component of MONAN and the compilation of the MOM 6 model on the Egeon machine, with a structure ready for comparison tests (collaboration between researchers Emanuel Giarolla and Manuel Baptista ). He adds that the main objective for the year 2024 is the process of defining the minimum requirements for choosing and evaluating candidate models for defining the oceanic component of MONAN, considering their computational performance and best numerical representation of the main physical processes, ocean dynamics, among other aspects. He concludes by presenting the team and the partnership with collaborators internal and external to INPE.

Saulo Freitas thanks Rosio Camayo and proposes leaving the last item on the agenda for the next meeting (search for resources for the community) and opening it up for general discussion. Among the topics to be discussed, Saulo Freitas highlights the visits to NCAR with the participation of external members of the MONAN CC. Saulo Freitas comments that meetings should be held on the topics of data assimilation, scientific computing, physics, ocean modeling, and coupling. In addition, he also highlights the discussion of a strategic project with the LNCC. Saulo Freitas comments on the functioning of the subcommittee meetings. In his view, he comments that within the work proposal of the MONAN CC, subcommittees were created, to which people were designated as focal points to organize the activities on the topics and that it is necessary to have more subcommittee meetings so that the more technical issues can be discussed in more time and in more depth. He comments that Pedro Dias also has this perception. He cites Data Assimilation as an example, to which he attributes great priority in holding meetings of this subcommittee, so that issues and difficulties related to the topic can be discussed in greater depth, in addition to planning activities. Regarding MONAN Training, he comments that he could conduct a survey and send it to the MONAN CC to gather responses on the best format and best time to conduct it, instead of discussing this matter at this time. Saulo Freitas concludes by saying that discussing meetings with NCAR and how to deal with more technical and in-depth issues are more important at this time due to time constraints.

Pedro Dias comments that, among the priorities, for the subject of Data Assimilation, he believes it is necessary to create a better established culture on the subject in the weather and climate forecasting system, and that it is important to bring more people into this discussion. He comments that there are groups inside and outside Brazil and mentions the participation of Yanina Skabar from Argentina, who has experience in the subject. Pedro Dias also comments on more efficient access to the Santos Dumont supercomputer. He mentions that a meeting has been scheduled with Roberto Souto on this subject and that he will report on the developments afterwards. In his speech, he also comments that the structures available in Brazil and international cooperation should be used to speed up this process and that he was impressed by the progress of the Oceans and Cryosphere group. In his opinion, he comments that they are doing well with this effort to compare the MOM 6 (Modular Ocean Model) and MPAS-Ocean models , and other models, including the metrics for evaluating physics and computational efficiency, which are aspects to be considered in the selection process. He also mentions the articulation between model development and observation as interesting, and highlights that in Brazil it is necessary to better articulate this collaboration between modeling and observation, which Ronald Buss drew a lot of attention to, since model validation is part of MONAN's mission. Pedro Dias also comments on the case of the Amazon (participation of Julia Cohen), in particular, which worried him a lot, since there is no such bridge. He mentions that some of the members of the MONAN CC are involved in these initiatives, and that it is necessary to better articulate this collaboration. At the end of his speech, Pedro Dias congratulates Ronald Buss and his group for the way they are articulating these needs and that they are an example for other parts of MONAN.

Ronald Buss thanks Pedro Dias and comments that it is also an incentive for many who are starting out and mentions that many master's and doctoral students are being included in the system. He also takes the opportunity to thank DIMNT for providing the physical space and partners such as Ricardo Camargo from IAG /USP (Institute of Astronomy, Geophysics and Atmospheric Sciences).

Julia Cohen says she is satisfied, adds that she remembered the first meetings of the MONAN CC, and congratulates the group she has been working with. In her speech, she draws attention to what Pedro Dias said about the Amazon centers. She comments on the creation of CISAM (Integrated Center for Amazonian Sociobiodiversity) and that it has around ten coordinators and that she participates in one of them. She adds that this group still needs to present itself to the MONAN CC and that she is available to answer questions on this subject. Saulo Freitas comments that perhaps they can schedule a meeting with a smaller group to see how MONAN can be presented to the CISAM group. Julia Cohen comments that, in early April, she was also invited to participate in a meeting between the Brazilian and Chinese academies of sciences on the topic of regional modeling and that she will provide more details to the MONAN CC.

Saulo Freitas thanks Julia Cohen and passes the word to Haroldo Fraga.

Haroldo Fraga congratulates Ronald Buss, Rosio Camayo and the Oceans and Cryosphere group for their effort and work. He comments that, regardless of the model chosen for the coupling with the MPAS, there is also the expectation of the issue of the coupling and assimilation and that he would like to hear comments from Luciano Pezzi and João Gerd regarding how these articulations are going.

Luciano Pezzi thanks the oceans and cryosphere group for their recognition and highlights the importance of Haroldo's comment and the concern about the coupler, something he has already shared with some and which is very similar to the issue of data assimilation. He comments that he believes it is necessary to decide which direction to go. He adds that to do so, it is necessary to know the tools better and also understands that Carlos Renato is working on a line, but that interactions with NCAR will be extremely valuable in guiding in this direction. He comments that tests will be necessary to define which direction to go. In addition, he comments that there are individual coupler solutions as there are already more native solutions linked to certain models and that this is a complex philosophical, mathematical and computational challenge.

Haroldo Fraga comments that this is one point, that there are already automated routines for coupling between models. He reports that they have already coupled the wave model with the WRF atmospheric model, and that in collaboration with Rosio Camayo, they have coupled this wave model (which was already operational) with the BRAMS model (Brazilian developments on the Regional Atmospheric Modeling System). He also adds that they obtained good results with the coupling with the BRAMS model. He comments that it is worth testing the coupling with different models and not just doing the execution, and that there is also the issue related to the cryosphere, since it is another time scale. He adds that the time scales of the ocean and atmosphere are fundamental in this exchange of information, that the ocean is very slow and the atmosphere, very fast. He concludes by suggesting including this issue so that it can also be analyzed in the evaluation of the couplers, since sometimes, the coupling can generate differences in terms of performance and not in terms of computation, but in terms of the representativeness of the simulation.

Ronald Buss comments that one of the discussions that has been recurring in his group is the issue of the coupler, although it has not been verified in practice, but that the simplest thing is to create the oceanic MPAS model and couple it with the atmosphere, counting on the experience of colleagues from outside. He adds that something that has been widely discussed in the group is the issue of the spatial resolutions of the atmospheric and oceanic grids, which also needs to be verified in practice.

João Gerd comments on data assimilation and how the group will deal with it. The issue is exactly as Luciano Pezzi commented on the coupler. The assimilation, in the first step, needs to define the model and from this it will be possible to know the direction to be taken in the assimilation. He comments that if the MOM 6 model were chosen today, the JEDI system would be coupled. He adds that, if another model were chosen, it would be necessary to check which one to use among the data assimilation systems. João Gerda comments that, currently, the work being developed with Clemente Tanajura is important for a group that has more knowledge in atmospheric and surface assimilation and that this experience will be important to help the ocean modeling group make a more accurate decision.

Saulo Freitas gives an explanation of what was discussed at the meeting and what still needs to be done in the coming months:

  1. There are a number of things to be resolved, but due to time constraints, it has not yet been possible to do so;
  2. Regarding the training and scientific workshop, a survey will be sent via email to the MONAN CC for responses until a convergence is reached and which will count on the collaboration of all those who receive the emails - in this item, it adds that support is needed for the organization of the event;
  3. Hold a meeting with NCAR - on this subject, Pedro Dias mentioned that he would soon be visiting NCAR and that he could meet with them in some way to make a schedule. Pedro Dias added that he could already start negotiating to schedule a series of technical meetings in Brazil, not only involving INPE, but also the MONAN CC community. He said that he could include people from the MONAN CC in this technical visit to try to organize technical meetings on issues in the areas of high-performance computing, data assimilation, ocean modeling and coupling, so that we would have an idea of ​​what decisions will be made in the first half of 2024. Pedro Dias said that he thinks it is important for the oceans and cryosphere group to have a response about its decision by August 2024;
  4. Schedule a meeting with Julia Cohen to discuss the Amazon center issue;
  5. regarding LNCC, Saulo Freitas comments that Pedro Dias will talk to Roberto Souto to find a way for MONAN to be a strategic program within LNCC, to facilitate community access to carry out simulations with MONAN;
  6. That the subcommittees are not functioning properly and that it will be necessary to resume subcommittee meetings. In fact, the subcommittee leaders were supposed to organize the meetings and that perhaps the MONAN CC would call specific meetings, with a schedule starting with data assimilation. Saulo Freitas comments that the entire group will be called, including Fabrício Härter, Haroldo Fraga and Pedro Dias, among other participants, to discuss in more depth the issue of data assimilation and which methods will be used. He adds that this meeting will benefit from the experience with NCAR to see NCAR's own planning;
  7. With the new funding resources, from a material point of view, our interaction with the national community has to be more frequent and, with this, we can make the community participate effectively, with conditions for participation and taking advantage of these resources that have emerged to bring our project to a successful conclusion.

Pedro Dias comments that he has the impression that it will be necessary to conduct the meetings in a segmented manner, as it is very difficult to bring everyone together. He adds that some topics are of interest to a smaller group and that it is necessary to study in more detail the issue of how to divide the groups so that contact is more efficient.

Haroldo Fraga comments on the issue of the agenda for groups, topics such as data assimilation, the issue of assimilating radar, the issue of couplers, the performance evaluation of the coupling between ocean and atmosphere, in addition to including this evaluation as an agenda item.

Saulo Freitas comments that the oceans and cryosphere group presented part of the planning with a schedule of activities and goals, but that the issue of couplers will be raised as a specific point to be addressed with more focus and depth.

Marcio Nirlando suggests, on behalf of CENSIPAM , joint work with his group on the assimilation of radar data, since it is not planned for the year 2024. In this sense, he comments that they could contribute to this topic by doing parallel work with his team and that they are receiving seven more servers from a competition last year.

In the chat, Yanina Skabar comments that a joint meeting with her, the data assimilation group of the MONAN CC, would be interesting.

Ronald Buss comments that the coupling problem is not just an ocean and atmosphere problem, but it is a computing problem and it is a subject that demands dedicated people to work on it.

Saulo Freitas comments that Carlos Renato/INPE is doing a doctorate on the subject of coupling. He comments that this is not a discussion just about the cryosphere, ocean and atmosphere, but about the entire system, which is a collective decision to be made. Saulo Freitas adds that the only thing emphasized is that the issue of coupling has to be taken into account, in order to be able to talk to the rest of the system. Pedro Dias adds that coupling with surface hydrology is also a complex subject.

Saulo Freitas said it was a productive meeting and ended by thanking everyone for their participation.

Actions for the Next Meeting

  1. Alignment between the organization of the 1st MONAN Workshop (for MONAN CC members) and the organization of the course to be offered by WMO at INPE;
  2. Organize a meeting of the data assimilation subcommittee to discuss radar data assimilation within the scope of the MONAN CC;
  3. Discussion on fundraising within the scope of the MONAN CC;
  4. Conducting a survey among MONAN CC members with suggestions on holding the 1st Workshop;
  5. Review of the list of actions listed by Saulo Freitas in "Agenda 3 - Discussion of activities planned for 2024"
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