BRAN2020 data released

The latest global ocean reanalysis – BRAN2020 – has been released.

The Bluelink ReANalysis (BRAN) provides a 3D record of the global ocean. BRAN2020 incorporates substantial updates on the previous version (BRAN2016), including a new two-step multiscale data assimilation process. It also utilises new data products with ocean observations from recent decades.

Peter Oke from CSIRO says that “the latest BRAN experiment is our best yet. We’re fitting observations more closely than ever before, making BRAN2020 suitable for a wide range of applications. Users can use BRAN2020 data with confidence, knowing that it’s the culmination of almost two decades of research under the Bluelink Partnership, and stands on the shoulders of a massive international effort in sustained ocean observing”.

The data is freely available to the public through NCI. The data catalogue includes a description of the dataset and how to access it.

A paper by Chamberlain et al. (2021) will be published soon with further details and results. Please visit the Data Access page for updates.

The latest BRAN update has been eagerly anticipated by ocean researchers around Australia and worldwide. Other potential users include marine industries (e.g. fisheries, aquaculture, shipping, oil and gas, renewable energy), and government agencies (e.g. search and rescue, defence, coastal management, environmental protection) (Schiller et al. 2019).

BRAN is a key output of the Bluelink partnership: a collaboration between the Australian Department of Defence, Bureau of Meteorology and CSIRO.

DOI: 10.25914/6009627c7af03