Assimilation of SLA and SST data into an OGCM for the Indian Ocean

 Remotely sensed observations of sea-level anomaly and sea-surface temperature have been assimilated into an implementation of the Miami Isopycnic Coordinate Ocean Model (MICOM) for the Indian Ocean using the Ensemble Kalman Filter (EnKF). The system has been applied in a hindcast validation experiment to examine the properties of the assimilation scheme when used with a full ocean general circulation model and real observations. This work is considered as a first step towards an operational ocean monitoring and forecasting system for the Indian Ocean. The assimilation of real data has demonstrated that the sequential EnKF can efficiently control the model evolution in time. The use of data assimilation requires a significant amount of additional processing and computational resources. However, we have tried to justify the cost of using a sophisticated assimilation scheme by demonstrating strong regional and temporal dependencies of the covariance statistics, which include highly anisotropic and flow-dependent correlation functions. In particular, we observed a marked difference between error statistics in the equatorial region and at off-equatorial latitudes. We have also demonstrated how the assimilation of SLA and SST improves the model fields with respect to real observations. Independent in situ temperature profiles have been used to examine the impact of assimilating the remotely sensed observations. These intercomparisons have shown that the model temperature and salinity fields better resemble in situ observations in the assimilation experiment than in a model free-run case. On the other hand, it is also expected that assimilation of in situ profiles is needed to properly control the deep ocean circulation. Received: 8 January 2002 / Accepted: 8 April 2002     

Evaluating Soil Moisture Predictions Based on Ensemble Kalman Filter and SiB2 Model

Soil moisture is an important variable in the fields of hydrology, meteorology, and agriculture, and has been used for numerous applications and forecasts. Accurate soil moisture predictions on both a large scale and local scale for different soil depths are needed. In this study, a soil moisture assimilation and prediction based on the Ensemble Kalman Filter(EnKF) and Simple Biosphere Model(SiB2) have been performed in Meilin watershed, eastern China, to evaluate the initial state values with different assimilation frequencies and precipitation influences on soil moisture predictions. The assimilated results at the end of the assimilation period with different assimilation frequencies were set to be the initial values for the prediction period. The measured precipitation, randomly generated precipitation,and zero precipitation were used to force the land surface model in the prediction period. Ten cases were considered based on the initial value and precipitation. The results indicate that, for the summer prediction period with the deeper water table depth, the assimilation results with different assimilation frequencies influence soil moisture predictions significantly. The higher assimilation frequency gives better soil moisture predictions for a long lead-time. The soil moisture predictions are affected by precipitation within the prediction period. For a short lead-time, the soil moisture predictions are better for the case with precipitation, but for a long lead-time, they are better without precipitation. For the winter prediction period with a lower water table depth, there are better soil moisture predictions for the whole prediction period. Unlike the summer prediction period, the soil moisture predictions of winter prediction period are not significantly influenced by precipitation. Overall, it is shown that soil moisture assimilations improve its predictions.     

顺序数据同化算法的敏感性分析

为了探讨不同同化指标对顺序数据同化的影响,选择En KF,DEn KF,En SRF三种经典的顺序同化算法,结合Lorenz-1963模型进行敏感性实验分析,研究同化总时间、同化步长、集合成员数、方差膨胀因子、观测数目和局地化半径等指标对同化结果的影响。实验表明:同化总时间、同化步长、集合成员数、方差膨胀因子、观测数目和局地化半径对同化结果有直接的影响,基于En KF的改进算法在有限范围内是优于En KF的;当达到一定条件时,以上所有方法的同化结果趋于相同。研究结果对于实际应用中的最优顺序同化算法选择具有指导意义。     

Ensemble sensitivity analysis of an extreme rainfall event over the Himalayas in June 2013

Forecast Sensitivity of an extreme rainfall event over the Uttarakhand state located in the Western Himalayas is investigated through Ensemble-based Sensitivity Analysis (ESA). ESA enables the assessment of forecast errors and its relation to the flow fields through linear regression approach. The ensembles are initialized from an Ensemble Kalman Filter (EnKF) Data Assimilation in Weather Research and Forecast (WRF) model. ESA is then applied to evaluate the dynamics and predictability at two different days of the extreme precipitation episode. Results indicate that the precipitation forecast over Uttarakhand is sensitive to the mid-tropospheric trough and moisture fields for both the days, in general. The day 1 precipitation shows negative sensitivity to the trough over upstream regions of the storm location while in day 2, the sensitive region is found to be located over the southward intruded branch of the mid–tropospheric trough. Perturbations introduced in the initial conditions (IC) over the most sensitive region over the west of the storm location indicate significant variations in the forecast location of precipitation. IC perturbed experiments show that the perturbation amplitude is correlated linearly with predicted change in precipitation, which becomes nonlinear as the forecast length increases. ESA performed on convection-permitting ensembles show that precipitation over the Uttarakhand is mostly non-convective. However, when the location of the response function box is moved north-westward of the Uttarakhand, the sensitivity patterns show signs of convection.     

A methodology for estimating Leaf Area Index by assimilating remote sensing data into crop model based on temporal and spatial knowledge

In this paper,a methodology for Leaf Area Index(LAI) estimating was proposed by assimilating remote sensed data into crop model based on temporal and spatial knowledge.Firstly,sensitive parameters of crop model were calibrated by Shuffled Complex Evolution method developed at the University of Arizona(SCE-UA) optimization method based on phenological information,which is called temporal knowledge.The calibrated crop model will be used as the forecast operator.Then,the Taylor′s mean value theorem was applied to extracting spatial information from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer(MODIS) multi-scale data,which was used to calibrate the LAI inversion results by A two-layer Canopy Reflectance Model(ACRM) model.The calibrated LAI result was used as the observation operator.Finally,an Ensemble Kalman Filter(EnKF) was used to assimilate MODIS data into crop model.The results showed that the method could significantly improve the estimation accuracy of LAI and the simulated curves of LAI more conform to the crop growth situation closely comparing with MODIS LAI products.The root mean square error(RMSE) of LAI calculated by assimilation is 0.9185 which is reduced by 58.7% compared with that by simulation(0.3795),and before and after assimilation the mean error is reduced by 92.6% which is from 0.3563 to 0.0265.All these experiments indicated that the methodology proposed in this paper is reasonable and accurate for estimating crop LAI.     

Evaluating the utility of the ensemble transform Kalman filter for adaptive sampling when updating a hydrodynamic model

This paper compares two Monte Carlo sequential data assimilation methods based on the Kalman filter, for estimating the effect of measurements on simulations of state error variance made by a one-dimensional hydrodynamic model. The first method used an ensemble Kalman filter (EnKF) to update state estimates, which were then used as initial conditions for further simulations. The second method used an ensemble transform Kalman filter (ETKF) to quickly estimate the effect of measurement error covariance on forecast error covariance without the need to re-run the simulation model. The ETKF gave an unbiased estimate of EnKF analysed error variance, although differences in the treatment of measurement errors meant the results were not identical. Estimates of forecast error variance could also be made, but their accuracy deteriorated as the time from measurements increased due in part to model non-linearity and the decreasing signal variance. The motivation behind the study was to assess the ability of the ETKF to target possible measurements, as part of an adaptive sampling framework, before they are assimilated by an EnKF-based forecasting model on the River Crouch, Essex, UK. The ETKF was found to be a useful tool for quickly estimating the error covariance expected after assimilating measurements into the hydrodynamic model. It, thus, provided a means of quantifying the ‘usefulness’ (in terms of error variance) of possible sampling schemes.     

An adaptive hybrid EnKF-OI scheme for efficient state-parameter estimation of reactive contaminant transport models

Reactive contaminant transport models are used by hydrologists to simulate and study the migration and fate of industrial waste in subsurface aquifers. Accurate transport modeling of such waste requires clear understanding of the system’s parameters, such as sorption and biodegradation. In this study, we present an efficient sequential data assimilation scheme that computes accurate estimates of aquifer contamination and spatially variable sorption coefficients. This assimilation scheme is based on a hybrid formulation of the ensemble Kalman filter (EnKF) and optimal interpolation (OI) in which solute concentration measurements are assimilated via a recursive dual estimation of sorption coefficients and contaminant state variables. This hybrid EnKF-OI scheme is used to mitigate background covariance limitations due to ensemble under-sampling and neglected model errors. Numerical experiments are conducted with a two-dimensional synthetic aquifer in which cobalt-60, a radioactive contaminant, is leached in a saturated heterogeneous clayey sandstone zone. Assimilation experiments are investigated under different settings and sources of model and observational errors. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed hybrid EnKF-OI scheme successfully recovers both the contaminant and the sorption rate and reduces their uncertainties. Sensitivity analyses also suggest that the adaptive hybrid scheme remains effective with small ensembles, allowing to reduce the ensemble size by up to 80% with respect to the standard EnKF scheme.     

黄海海雾短时临近预报中云水路径的EnKF同化研究

在海雾的短时临近预报中,初始场的水汽凝结状态扮演着重要角色。为了改进初始场的云水含量,本文提出直接同化雾体云水信息的思路。针对2011年5月一次大范围的黄海海雾,借助EnKF (Ensemble Kalman Filter)方法,尝试进行了极轨卫星反演云水路径数据的同化试验。结果表明:(1)通过利用EnKF将云水混合比增加到背景场和分析场的控制变量中,构建云水观测数据与背景场之间的关系,实现云水路径数据的直接同化是可行的;(2)同化云水路径可显著改善海面气温与湿度状态,大幅提高海雾预报效果;(3)EnKF能够基于集合体动态统计流依赖的背景误差协方差是其取得良好同化效果的主要原因。值得指出的是,受集合样本误差的影响,需要特别关注云水含量与风之间的相关关系。     

上海邻近海域风暴潮数据同化与特征分析

风暴潮是一种复杂的对众多因素敏感又备受关注的海洋现象。本文基于协方差局地化的集合卡尔曼滤波方法（EnKF）,选择201810号台风“安比”登陆上海的风暴潮过程,首次将海洋站和FVCOM数值模拟的不同来源、不同误差信息、不同时空分辨率的风暴潮进行数据同化融合,获得了逐72 h的上海海域风暴潮的最优解,进行了同化结果评估验证,并给出了集合样本数和Schur半径设置范围。结果表明,实测计算和数值模拟的风暴增减水之间均方根误差为0.20 m,实测和同化计算的风暴增减水之间均方根误差为0.07 m,准确度提高了65%;独立观测和同化计算的风暴增减水均方根误差为0.09 m,集合离散度与均方根误差比值为0.90,同化效果较好且可信;同化后的风暴增减水能够较好地刻画双峰增水、台风眼增水、增水锋面等特征,对于风暴潮研究、数值模拟结果订正、海洋防灾减灾等有重要意义。     

EnKF Assimilation of Satellite-retrieved Cloud Water Path to Improve Tropical Cyclone Rainfall Forecast

Tropical cyclone (TC) rainfall forecast has remained a challenge. To create initial conditions with high quality for simulation, the present study implemented a data assimilation scheme based on the EnKF method to ingest the satellite-retrieved cloud water path ( C w ) and tested it in WRF. The scheme uses the vertical integration of forecasted cloud water content to transform control variables to the observation space, and creates the correlations between C w and control variables in the flow-dependent background error covariance based on all the ensemble members, so that the observed cloud information can affect the background temperature and humidity. For two typhoons in 2018 (Yagi and Rumiba), assimilating C w significantly increases the simulated rainfalls and TC intensities. In terms of the average equitable threat score of daily moderate to heavy rainfall (5?120 mm), the improvements are over 130%, and the dry biases are cut by about 30%. Such improvements are traced down to the fact that C w assimilation increases the moisture content, especially that further away from the TC center, which provides more precipitable water for the rainfall,strengthens the TC and broadens the TC size via latent heat release and internal wind field adjustment.