It can also be used for analyzing climate variability and validating model simulations. The OGCM has relatively high resolution in the tropics to resolve equatorial oceanic waves. Our emphasis, however, is in fully using available temperature measurements in past decades, which have been significantly increased in recent years due to expanded observation network and effort in recollecting historical records. Effort has been made to combine data from these different sources into a comprehensive data set. Our preliminary assessment of the ODA analyses has shown that assimilating observations into an OGCM significantly reduce the model's systematic error and enhance its annual cycle and interannual variability.
Comparisons also show good agreement between our analyses and some other independent analyses.
The ODA output has been used for analyzing climate variability in the tropical oceans.