The Structure of Background-error Covariance in a Four-dimensional Variational Data Assimilation System: Single-point Experiment

A four dimensional variational data assimilation (4DVar) based on a dimension-reduced projection (DRP-4DVar) has been developed as a hybrid of the 4DVar and Ensemble Kalman filter (EnKF) concepts. Its good flow-dependent features are demonstrated in single-point experiments through comparisons with adjoint-based 4DVar and three-dimensional variational data (3DVar) assimilations using the fifth-generation Pennsylvania State University-National Center for Atmospheric Research Mesoscale Model (MM5). The results reveal that DRP-4DVar can reasonably generate a background error covariance matrix (simply B-matrix) during the assimilation window from an initial estimation using a number of initial condition dependent historical forecast samples. In contrast, flow-dependence in the B-matrix of MM5 4DVar is barely detectable. It is argued that use of diagonal estimation in the B-matrix of the MM5 4DVar method at the initial time leads to this failure. The experiments also show that the increments produced by DRP-4DVar are anisotropic and no longer symmetric with respect to observation location due to the effects of the weather trends captured in its B-matrix. This differs from the MM5 3DVar which does not consider the influence of heterogeneous forcing on the correlation structure of the B-matrix, a condition that is realistic for many situations. Thus, the MM5 3DVar assimilation could only present an isotropic and homogeneous structure in its increments.     

预分析初始扰动样本对降维投影四维变分同化性能的影响

降维投影四维变分同化(DRP-4DVar)方法的背景误差协方差是由基于历史预报的扰动样本统计得到的,为了改进降维投影四维变分同化系统中背景误差协方差的流依赖特性,提出了对初始扰动样本进行预分析的新思路,即在对背景场分析之前,利用降维投影四维变分同化系统本身对每个样本进行预先分析,使得统计出的背景误差协方差随实际的天气形势而变化,从而实现其在真正意义上的流依赖,且在循环同化时能够避免滤波发散现象的出现。试验结果表明,对样本进行预先分析能够通过改善同化系统中背景误差协方差的空间结构和流依赖特性,来进一步改进降维投影四维变分同化方法的性能,为数值模式提供更精确的初始场,从而提高了基本模式变量的预报精度,并改善了对强降水的模拟能力。相比较而言,对所有初始扰动样本都进行了预分析的同化试验能够得到最优的分析和预报。     

An Adjoint-Free CNOP–4DVar Hybrid Method for Identifying Sensitive Areas in Targeted Observations: Method Formulation and Preliminary Evaluation

This paper proposes a hybrid method, called CNOP–4 DVar, for the identification of sensitive areas in targeted observations, which takes the advantages of both the conditional nonlinear optimal perturbation(CNOP) and four-dimensional variational assimilation(4 DVar) methods. The proposed CNOP–4 DVar method is capable of capturing the most sensitive initial perturbation(IP), which causes the greatest perturbation growth at the time of verification; it can also identify sensitive areas by evaluating their assimilation effects for eliminating the most sensitive IP. To alleviate the dependence of the CNOP–4 DVar method on the adjoint model, which is inherited from the adjoint-based approach, we utilized two adjointfree methods, NLS-CNOP and NLS-4 DVar, to solve the CNOP and 4 DVar sub-problems, respectively. A comprehensive performance evaluation for the proposed CNOP–4 DVar method and its comparison with the CNOP and CNOP–ensemble transform Kalman filter(ETKF) methods based on 10 000 observing system simulation experiments on the shallow-water equation model are also provided. The experimental results show that the proposed CNOP–4 DVar method performs better than the CNOP–ETKF method and substantially better than the CNOP method.     

两种样本生成方法对DRP-4DVar同化方法性能影响的比较及分析

降维投影四维变分同化方法(DRP-4DVar)利用历史预报的集合来统计背景误差协方差,并将分析变量投影到样本空间下求解代价函数,因而集合样本的质量对DRP-4DVar同化方法的性能有着重要影响.文中尝试使用三维变分(3DVar)控制变量的扰动方法来产生集合样本,并与原来的历史预报扰动方法做比较.历史预报扰动样本具有随流...     

一种新的资料同化方法

为寻求一种快速有效的四维变分资料同化(英文缩写4DVar)作了有意义的尝试,提出了映射观测的新概念和反向四维变分资料同化的新思路,并以此为基础建立了三维变分映射资料同化(英文缩写为3DVM:3-DimensionalVariational data assimilation of Mapped observation)。该方法与传统的四维变分资料同化一样,不仅考虑了模式的动力和物理约束,使得同化后的初值与模式协调,而且通过模式方程对同化窗口中不同时刻的观测资料作了最佳拟合。与传统四维变分同化方法不同的是,由3DVM得到的初值不在同化窗口的始端,而在窗口的末端。正是所求初值时刻的改变,使得该方法的计算代价大大减少,几乎与三维变分资料同化(英文缩写3DVar)相当,这实际上是用3DVar的代价实现了4DVar的功能。同时,由于3DVM不再需要切线性和伴随近似来计算代价函数的梯度也提高了同化的精度。对具体的台风个例(Dan)用AMSU-A反演的温度场进行变分同化模拟试验,发现3DVM能比传统4DVar产生更好的初值,而且所花计算时间只需4DVar的1/7。     

Sensitivity of the DRP-4DVar Performance to Perturbation Samples Obtained by Two Different Methods

The dimension-reduced projection four-dimensional variational data assimilation (DRP-4DVar) approach utilizes the ensemble of historical forecasts to estimate the background error covariance (BEC) and directly obtains the analysis in the ensemble space.As a result,the quality of ensemble members significantly affects the DRP-4DVar performance.The historical-forecast-based initial perturbation samples are flow-dependent and can describe the error-growth pattern of the atmospheric model and the balanced relat...     

Reducing the prediction uncertainties of high-impact weather and climate events: An overview of studies at LASG

This paper summarizes recent progress at the State Key Laboratory of Numerical Modeling for Atmospheric Sciences and Geophysical Fluid Dynamics (LASG), Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences in studies on targeted observations, data assimilation, and ensemble prediction, which are three effective strategies to reduce the prediction uncertainties and improve the forecast skill of weather and climate events. Considering the limitations of traditional targeted observation approaches, LASG researchers have developed a conditional nonlinear optimal perturbation-based targeted observation strategy to optimize the design of the observing network. This strategy has been employed to identify sensitive areas for targeted observations of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation, Indian Ocean dipole, and tropical cyclones, and has been demonstrated to be effective in improving the forecast skill of these events. To assimilate the targeted observations into the initial state of a numerical model, a dimension-reducedprojection- based four-dimensional variational data assimilation (DRP-4DVar) approach has been proposed and is used operationally to supply accurate initial conditions in numerical forecasts. The performance of DRP-4DVar is good, and its computational cost is much lower than the standard 4DVar approach. Besides, ensemble prediction, which is a practical approach to generate probabilistic forecasts of the future state of a particular system, can be used to reduce the prediction uncertainties of single forecasts by taking the ensemble mean of forecast members. In this field, LASG researchers have proposed an ensemble forecast method that uses nonlinear local Lyapunov vectors (NLLVs) to yield ensemble initial perturbations. Its application in simple models has shown that NLLVs are more useful than bred vectors and singular vectors in improving the skill of the ensemble forecast. Therefore, NLLVs represent a candidate for possible development as an ensemble method in operational forecasts. Despite the considerable efforts made towards developing these methods to reduce prediction uncertainties, much challenging but highly important work remains in terms of improving the methods to further increase the skill in forecasting such weather and climate events.     

A New Approach to Data Assimilation

A significant attempt to design a timesaving and efficient four-dimensional variational data assimilation (4DVar) has been made in this paper, and a new approach to data assimilation, which is noted as 'three-dimensional variational data assimilation of mapped observation (3DVM)' is proposed, based on the new concept of mapped observation and the new idea of backward 4DVar. Like the available 4DVar, 3DVM produces an optimal initial condition (IC) that is consistent with the prediction model due to the inclusion of model constraints and best fits the observations in the assimilation window through the model solution trajectory. Different from the 4DVar, the IC derived from 3DVM is located at the end of the assimilation window rather than at the beginning conventionally. This change greatly reduces the computing cost for the new approach, which is almost the same as that of the three-dimensional variational data assimilation (3DVar). Especially, such a change is able to improve assimilation accuracy because it does not need the tangential linear and adjoint approximations to calculate the gradient of cost function. Therefore, in numerical test, the new approach produces better IC than 4DVar does for 72-h simulation of TY9914 (Dan), by assimilating the three-dimensional fields of temperature and wind retrieved from the Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit-A (AMSU-A) observations. Meanwhile, it takes only 1/7 of the computing cost that the 4DVar requires for the same initialization with the same retrieved data.     

Impact of Analysis-time Tuning on the Performance of the DRP-4DVar Approach

In this study we extend the dimension-reduced projection-four dimensional variational data assimilation (DRP-4DVar) approach to allow the analysis time to be tunable, so that the intervals between analysis time and observation times can be shortened. Due to the limits of the perfect-model assumption and the tangentlinear hypothesis, the analysis-time tuning is expected to have the potential to further improve analyses and forecasts. Various sensitivity experiments using the Lorenz-96 model are conducted to test the impact of analysistime tuning on the performance of the new approach under perfect and imperfect model scenarios, respectively. Comparing three DRP-4DVar schemes having the analysis time at the start, middle, and end of the assimilation window, respectively, it is found that the scheme with the analysis time in the middle of the window outperforms the others, on the whole. Moreover, the advantage of this scheme is more pronounced when a longer assimilation window is adopted or more observations are assimilated.     

An Extension of the Dimension-Reduced Projection 4DVar

This paper extends the dimension-reduced pro- jection four-dimensional variational assimilation method （DRP-4DVar） by adding a nonlinear correction process, thereby forming the DRP-4DVar with a nonlinear correction, which shall hereafter be referred to as the NC-DRP- 4DVar. A preliminary test is conducted using the Lorenz-96 model in one single-window experiment and several multiple-window experiments. The results of the single-window experiment show that compared with the adjoint-based traditional 4DVar, the final convergence of the cost function for the NC-DRP-4DVar is almost the same as that using the traditional 4DVar, but with much less computation. Furthermore, the 30-window assimilation experiments demonstrate that the NC-DRP-4DVar can alleviate the linearity approximation error and reduce the root mean square error significantly.     

基于模式约束三维变分技术的连续循环同化试验研究

由于模式约束三维变分同化技术中考虑了模式的动力和物理过程,因此能保证各物理量间的平衡关系,从而滤除由于观测资料引入导致的高频波动,减小模式与初始场的协调时间.由于能在较短时间调整到稳定状态,采用模式约束三维变分同化进行连续循环同化可用较少的计算量达到同化多时次的多种观测资料的目的.该研究利用模式约束三维变分技术,针对2006年"桑美"台风个例,进行了连续循环同化卫星云导风、QuikSCAT海面风、Bogus海平面气压的试验.在台风数值预报中往往需要使用经验构造的台风信息(如Bogus海平面气压,Bogus风场等),该研究采用了模式约束三维变分同化技术同化Bogus海平面气压.由于模式约束三维变分同化技术充分考虑了各物理量间的约束,因此通过同化Bogus海平面气压也调整了初始场中相应的高度场、温度场、风场等变量,使得初始场中的台风涡旋具有较强的协调性,提高了对台风的模拟能力.采用AVN模式6小时间隔的分析场作为侧边界,2006年8月8日20时的分析场作为初估场,文中对8月8日20时到9日05时"桑美"台风的观测资料进行了连续循环同化.采用连续循环同化后台风路径的模拟精度得到了显著提高,对台风降水结构等的模拟也得到了改善.     

基于历史样本投影的四维变分陆面数据同化方法及其初步应用

法面临着计算量上的挑战。本研究将一种历史样本投影的四维变分同化方法(Historical-Sample-Projection4DVar,简写为HSP-4DVar)应用于陆面数据同化,建立起CoLM陆面模型的HSP-4DVar系统。相比其他四维变分同化方法,HSP-4DVar的分析值是显式求解,不需要编写和使用伴随模式,从而大大节省了计算量,是一种易于实现的同化方案。通过同化56个月的土壤湿度观测数据表明,新的陆面同化系统不仅省时,而且能够有效吸取观测信息,使得同化后的均方根误差显著降低,各层土壤湿度模拟都有所改善,陆表1000mm层的改善最为明显。     

基于VDRAS的快速更新雷达四维变分分析系统

基于雷达资料快速更新四维变分同化 (RR4DVar) 技术和三维数值云模式,初步研发了一个针对对流尺度数值模拟的快速更新雷达四维变分分析系统。系统通过对京津冀6部多普勒天气雷达资料进行RR4DVar同化,并融合5 min自动气象站观测和中尺度数值模式结果,可快速分析得到12~18 min更新的低层大气三维动力、热力场的对流尺度结构特征。针对2009年7月22日发生在京津冀的一次强风暴个例,通过一系列敏感性试验,并利用局地加密资料进行检验对比,表明有效的雷达资料RR4DVar同化及自动气象站和中尺度模式资料融合方案、恰当的中尺度背景场设置和动力约束方法是获得合理结果的关键。研究也表明:恰当的系统配置能够模拟出与对流生消发展密切相关的近风暴环境特征,包括低层入流、垂直风切变、低层辐合上升和暖舌等,以及风暴自身形成的冷池、出流等与风暴演变密切相关的对流尺度结构。     

用一种新的同化方法同化降水量资料

Observations of accumulated precipitation are extremely valuable for effectively improving rainfall analysis and forecast. It is, however, difficult to use such observations directly through sequential assimilation methods, such as three-dimensional variational data assimilation or an Ensemble Kalman Filter. In this study, the authors illustrate a new approach that makes effective use of precipitation data to improve rainfall forecast. The new method directly obtains an optimal solution in a reduced space by fitting observations with historical time series generated by the model; it also avoids the implementation of tangent linear model and its adjoint. A lot of historical samples are produced as the ensemble of precipitation observations with the fully nonlinear forecast model. The results show that the new approach is capable of extracting information from precipitation observations to improve the analysis and forecast. This method provides comparable performance with the standard four- dimensional variational data assimilation at a much lower computational cost.     

基于历史预报的四维变分资料同化（4DVar）方法中的滤波

基于历史预报的四维变分同化方法在降维的样本空间最小化代价函数,避免切线性伴随模式,是一种比较经济的算法。但是因为选取的集合样本不可能无限多,实际样本数远远小于观测资料数以及模式变量的自由度,会导致观测站点和模式格点间产生虚假的相关。介绍了在历史预报4DVar中引入的局地化滤波技术,并通过3组试验,比较了局地化前后的结果。试验结果表明:引入局地化技术后,其能有效滤去初始场中的虚假相关关系,同时由于Schur算子的作用,滤波后的分析场是光滑连续的。而且实际个例研究结果表明,局地化后能改进6 h和12 h累积降水的均方根误差,进一步提高预报效果。       

基于扰动模式的四维变分资料同化系统框架的设计完善和数值试验

为了建立一个应用于区域数值预报的四维变分资料同化（4DVar）系统,在近期开发的扰动预报模式GRAPES_PF基础上,开发完善增量四维变分同化系统框架。该框架中暂不包含物理过程（长短波辐射、边界层过程、对流参数化和云微物理等）。对比业务使用的GRAPES 3DVar系统,增加了温度控制变量。将无量纲Exner气压与流函数的线性风压平衡方程直接在地形追随垂直坐标面上求解,且通过广义共轭余差法（GCR）求解扰动亥姆霍兹（Helmholtz）伴随方程。利用人造“探空”资料对2015年10月台风“彩虹”进行了理想数值试验。试验结果表明,所开发的扰动四维变分同化框架得到了预期的结果,即同化更多资料并反复受到模式约束的四维变分同化系统能有效改善初值质量,进而改善区域数值预报。建立的区域四维变分同化框架合理可行,为进一步发展包含完整物理过程的区域四维变分同化系统奠定了研究基础。      

GRAPES全球四维变分同化系统极小化算法预调节

在进行多次外循环更新的增量分析框架下,前一次极小化迭代过程中产生的信息可提供给下一次极小化做预调节。该文在GRAPES全球四维变分同化系统中对极小化算法——L-BFGS算法实施了这种预调节,通过全观测的个例试验和批量试验进行评估,发现进行预调节后L-BFGS算法的收敛效率得到明显提高,而且在1个月的循环试验中表现十分稳定。该工作可以帮助GRAPES全球四维变分同化系统有效减少极小化的迭代次数,有利于满足业务化运行的时效要求。另外,间隔6 h和间隔24 h的两次4DVar分析对应的海森矩阵变化不大,因此,前一时刻极小化过程产生的信息提供给后一时刻的极小化进行预调节也有一定效果。     

雷达观测对应模式变量非线性特征及对四维变分同化的影响

四维变分同化（4DVar）中切线性模式和伴随模式的时间积分长度即为同化时间窗的长度。为理解线性模式时间积分长度对4DVar的具体影响,在雷达观测对应变量非线性分析的基础上,进行了一系列不同时间窗（10 min、20 min和30 min）4DVar单点观测试验和一次降雨的实际雷达同化和预报试验。从径向风同化来看:短时间窗（10 min）的风场增量更大、更局地;长时间窗(20 min、30 min)的风场增量则更具系统性特征,但会丢失一些小尺度信息,导致暴雨预报能力降低。从反射率同化来看:短时间窗对6 h内强降水预报有较明显的改善,较长时间窗甚至会降低降水预报效果。研究旨在为合理设置4DVar的同化时间窗提供参考,以有效利用高时空分辨率的雷达观测资料,又尽量减小线性化造成的误差,进而快速有效地同化雷达信息。      

Strategies to Overcome Filter Divergence in the DRP-4-DVar Approach

This paper discusses an important issue related to filter divergence in the dimension-reduced projection,four-dimensional variational data assimilation(DRP-4-DVar) approach.Idealized experiments with the Lorenz-96 model over a period of 200 days showed that the amplitudes of the root mean square errors(RMSEs) reached the same levels as those of the state variables after approximately 100 days because of the accumulation of sampling errors following the cycle of assimilation.Strategies to reduce sampling errors are critical to ensure the quality of ensemble-based assimilation.Numerical experiments showed that localization and reducing observational errors can alleviate,but cannot completely overcome,the filter divergence in the DRP-4-DVar approach,while the method of perturbing observations and the inflation technique can efficiently eliminate the filter divergence problem.     

Numerical experiments for Typhoon Dan incorporating AMSU-A retrieved data with 3DVM

Two sets of assimilation experiments on a landfalling typhoon—Typhoon Dan(1999)over the western North Pacific were designed to compare the performances of two kinds of variational data assimilation schemes that are the 3-Dimensional Variational data assimilation of Mapped observation(3DVM)and the 4-dimensional variational data assimilation(4DVar).Results show that:(1)both the 3DVM and 4DVar successfully improved the simulations of typhoon intensity and track incorporating the satellite AMSU-A retrieved temperature and wind data into the initial conditions,and the 3DVM more significantly due to the flow-dependent of background error covariance matrix and observation error covariance matrix like 3-dimensional variational data assimilation(3DVar)circle;(2)inclusions of extra model integration iterations at each observation time in the 3DVM make it more consistent with prediction model;(3)the 3DVM is much more time-saving due to the exclusion of the adjoint technique in it.