The Modular Ocean Model, version 6 (MOM6) is the latest in a long line of NOAA-supported community ocean models. With the advent of a new Open Community Development paradigm, MOM6 draws upon a broader range of precursor ocean models, and there is now engagement in the development and deployment of MOM6 by several major groups from academia and agencies in the U.S. and abroad. Extensive testing and modern version control make this Open Community Development possible, while giving each scientific group the control it needs to ensure the quality of its MOM6-based model configurations. This talk will describe some of the notable features of MOM6 (such as the use of Lagrangian Vertical Dynamics to facilitate the use of range of different vertical coordinates and cost-efficient simulations in tracer-rich configurations) that make MOM6 well suited for wide range of research and operational applications. MOM6 being used in a number of different operational or pre-operational applications in NOAA, which this talk will also describe. Examples of such applications range from centennial-scale Earth System projections, to seasonal-to-interannual global coupled forecasts, to high-resolution global near-term forecasts and regional simulations with extensive marine ecosystem components for fishery-related studies.
