Reduction of forecast error for global numerical weather prediction by The Florida State University (FSU) Superensemble

Summary The skill of the FSU Superensemble technique as applied to global numerical weather prediction is evaluated extensively in this paper. The global mass and motion fields for year 2000 and precipitation over the domain 55S to 55N for year 2001, as predicted by the Superensemble, the ensemble member models, and the mean of the ensemble members, are evaluated by standard statistical measures of skill to determine the performance of the Superensemble in relation to the other models. The member models are global forecast models from 5 of the worlds operational forecast centers in addition to the FSU global spectral model. For precipitation 5 additional versions of the FSU global model are utilized in the ensemble, as defined by different initial conditions provided by various physical initialization algorithms. Statistical parameters calculated for the mass and motion fields include root mean square (RMS) error, systematic error (or bias), and anomaly correlation. These are applied to the mean sea level pressure, 500hPa heights, and the wind fields at 850hPa and 200hPa. Statistical parameters that were calculated for precipitation include RMS error, correlation, equitable threat score (ETS), and a special definition of bias appropriate for the precipitation field. For the mass and motion fields the performance of the Superensemble was considered for the annual global case, as well as for each hemisphere (north and south) and for each of the four seasons. For precipitation only the annual case was considered over the domain cited above.For the mass and motion fields the RMS calculations showed the Superensemble to be superior (to have the smallest total forecast error) in all comparisons to the ensemble member models, and to be superior to the ensemble mean in the vast majority of comparisons. Performance in comparison to the other models was generally better in the Southern Hemisphere than in the Northern Hemisphere, and better in the transition seasons of fall and spring than in the extreme seasons of winter and summer. The Superensemble had the best success with mean sea level pressure, followed in order by 500hPa geopotential heights, 850hPa winds, and 200hPa winds.In the calculations of 500hPa geopotential height anomaly correlation the Superensemble had higher scores in all comparisons to the ensemble member models, as well as higher scores in the majority of comparisons to the ensemble mean. As with the RMS error results, the Superensemble performed better in the Southern Hemisphere than in the Northern Hemisphere, and better in fall than in summer, in comparison to the other models. The superior anomaly correlation scores of the Superensemble attest to the ability of the model to forecast daily perturbations from the climatological means, perturbations that are associated with transient synoptic scale features, given the horizontal resolution in the forecast models.In terms of systematic error reduction the Superensemble produces its most impressive results. Annual global mean sea-level pressure systematic errors for day 5 forecasts are generally in the range of ±1hPa (compared to errors as high as 8hPa in other models), and day 2 forecasts of 500hPa geopotential height produced systematic errors generally in the range of ±10 meters (compared to errors as high as 60 meters in other models). The Superensemble was able to reduce systematic errors in forecasts of a variety of important features in the global mass and motion fields: surface equatorial trough, wave amplitude in geopotential heights at 500hPa, trade winds and Somali Jet at 850hPa, mid-latitude westerlies, subtropical jet, and Tropical Easterly Jet (TEJ) at 200hPa.In terms of forecasting precipitation the Superensemble outperforms all ensemble member models and the ensemble mean in terms of RMS error, correlation coefficient, equitable threat score, and bias. The superior correlation scores indicate that the Superensemble is more reliable than the other models in predicting perturbations in the area distribution of precipitation, perturbations that are essentially associated with migrant synoptic scale disturbances, considering the horizontal resolution of the forecast models.The Superensemble is a valuable tool for significantly improving upon the global model forecasts of the worlds operational forecast centers. These forecasts are used daily as important guidance in making weather forecasts in all regions of the world. This paper will demonstrate that the Superensemble improves upon the ensemble member model forecasts: (1) in a statistical sense considering broad areas of the globe, (2) in a synoptic climatology sense through focus on the improved forecasts of climatological features seen in the global mass and motion fields, (3) in a synoptic sense through use of anomaly correlation and correlation coefficient where improvement is demonstrated in the forecasts of perturbations from mean fields which are essentially associated with transient synoptic scale disturbances.     

Improved seasonal climate forecasts for the Caribbean region using the Florida State University Synthetic Superensemble

Summary Climate variations in the Caribbean, largely manifest in rainfall activity, have important consequences for the large-scale water budget, natural vegetation, and land use in the region. The wet and dry seasons will be defined, and the important roles played by the El Ni?o-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) in modulating the rainfall during these seasons will be discussed. The seasonal climate forecasts in this paper are made by 13 state of the art coupled atmosphere-ocean general circulation models (CGCMs) and by the Florida State University Synthetic Superensemble (FSUSSE), whose forecasts are obtained by a weighted combination of the individual CGCM forecasts based on a training period. The success of the models in simulating the observed 1989–2001 climatology of the various forecast parameters will be examined and linked to the models’ success in predicting the seasonal climate for individual years. Seasonal forecasts will be examined for precipitation, sea-surface temperature (SST), 2-meter air temperature, and 850 hPa u- and v-wind components during the period 1989–2001. Evaluation metrics include root mean square (RMS) error and Brier skill score. It will be shown that the FSUSSE is superior to the individual CGCMs and their ensemble mean both in simulating the 1989–2001 climatology for the various parameters and in predicting the seasonal climate of the various parameters for individual years. The seasonal climate forecasts of the FSUSSE and of the ensemble mean of the 13 state of the art CGCMs will be evaluated for years (during the period 1989–2001) that have particular ENSO and NAO signals that are known to influence Caribbean weather, particularly the rainfall. It will be shown that the FSUSSE provides superior forecasts of rainfall, SST, 2-meter air temperature, and 850 hPa u- and v-wind components during dry summers that are modulated by negative SOI and/or positive NAO indices. Such summers have become a feature of a twenty-year pattern of drought in the Caribbean region. The results presented in this paper will show that the FSUSSE is a valuable tool for forecasting rainfall and other atmospheric and oceanic variables during such periods of drought.     

Global climate models as forcing for regional ocean modeling: a sensitivity study in the Iberian Basin (Eastern North Atlantic)

This work evaluates the performance of several global climate models (GCMs) as forcing of a regional ocean model configuration centered in the Iberian Basin. The study is divided in two parts. First, the output of nine GCMs is analyzed based on the fields needed to force the ocean model (Regional Ocean Modelling System—ROMS). GCMs differ greatly between them and their performance depends on the field. In the second part, the two GCMs with the worst performances in both extremes of the ensemble are used as forcing for two ROMS simulations, with the purpose of assessing the range of uncertainty comprised in this set of GCMs. Two other ROMS runs are setup: one climatologically forced control run, and one forced with the average of all the nine GCMs—the ensemble mean. Results show that the tendency of overestimation/underestimation of the forcings is reflected in the modeled hydrography, both at the surface and deeper layers down to 500 m. Nevertheless, in terms of circulation, all four runs reproduce the Azores Current, as well as the coastal transition zone seasonality (winter poleward flow and summer upwelling-associated equatorward flow). The CGCMs output performance as forcing depends on the forcing variable: one performs well for one or more variables, but badly for others, and which field is well or badly reproduced varies for each CGCM. Therefore, there is not a single CGCM having the best forcing for all variables. Hence, our results indicate that the most adequate approach consists of using the ensemble mean as forcing rather than using an individual model. This is supported by the general low overall (i.e. for all forcing variables) errors of the ensemble mean regarding the control climatological dataset, and the good comparison of the ensemble-forced ROMS run with the control run.     

Coupling of a regional atmospheric model (RegCM3) and a regional oceanic model (FVCOM) over the maritime continent

Climatological high resolution coupled climate model simulations for the maritime continent have been carried out using the regional climate model (RegCM) version 3 and the finite volume coastal ocean model (FVCOM) specifically designed to resolve regions characterized by complex geometry and bathymetry. The RegCM3 boundary forcing is provided by the EMCWF-ERA40 re-analysis. FVCOM is embedded in the Global MITgcm which provides boundary forcing. The domain of the coupled regional model covers the entire South China Sea with its through-flow, the entire Indonesian archipelago with the Indonesian through-flow (ITF) and includes a large region in the western Pacific and eastern Indian oceans. The coupled model is able to provide stable and realistic climatological simulations for a specific decade of atmospheric–oceanic variables without flux correction. The major focus of this work is on oceanic properties. First, the coupled simulation is assessed against ocean-only simulations carried out under two different sets of air–sea heat fluxes. The first set, provided by the MITgcm, is proved to be grossly deficient as the heat fluxes are evaluated by a two-dimensional, zonally averaged atmosphere and the simulated SST have anomalous cold biases. Hence the MITgcm fluxes are discarded. The second set, the NCEP re-analysis heat fluxes, produces a climatological evolution of the SST with an average cold bias of ~?0.8 °C. The coupling eliminates the cold bias and the coupled SST evolution is in excellent agreement with the analogous evolution in the SODA re-analysis data. The detailed comparison of oceanic circulation properties with the International Nusantara Stratification and Transport observations shows that the coupled simulation produces the best estimate of the total ITF transport through the Makassar strait while the transports of three ocean-only simulations are all underestimated. The annual cycle of the transport is also very well reproduced. The coupling also considerably improves the vertical thermal structure of the Makassar cross section in the upper layer affected by the heat fluxes. On the other hand, the coupling is relatively ineffective in improving the precipitation fields even though the coupled simulation captures reasonably well the precipitation annual cycle at three land stations in different latitudes.     

Objective determination of onset,advancement and withdrawal of the summer monsoon using large-scale forecast fields of a global spectral model over India

Summary In this study, a detailed examination on the evolution of summer monsoon onset over southern tip of the Indian peninsula, its advancement and withdrawal over the Indian sub-continent is carried out by utilizing the analysis/forecast fields of a global spectral model for Monsoon-1995. The data base used in this study is derived from the archives of global data assimilation and forecasting system of NCMRWF, India, valid for 00UTC at 1.5° latitude/longitude resolution for the summer monsoon period of 1995. By utilizing the analyses and forecast fields, and the established knowledge of the Indian monsoon, objective criteria are employed in this study for determining the onset, advancement, and withdrawal of the monsoon.It is found that all the major characteristics of Monsoon-1995 are captured well by the analysis-forecast system even though the criteria adopted in this study are more objective and different in nature as compared to the conventional procedures. The onset date of monsoon over the southern tip of the Indian peninsula as determined by the dynamical onset procedure is found to be matching well with the realized date. Further, the evolution of monsoon onset characteristics over the Arabian Sea both in the analyses and forecasts is found to be in good agreement with the earlier studies. However, the magnitudes of net tropospheric moisture build-up and tropospheric temperature increase differ with respect to analyses and corresponding forecast fields. In addition, all important characteristics of the advancement and withdrawal of monsoon over the Indian sub-continent viz. stagnation, revival etc., are brought out reasonably well by the analysis and forecast system.With 10 Figures     

GRAPES-TYM模式对我国东部近海海雾预报性能评估

基于2020年上半年我国东部近海站点观测资料和葵花-8卫星反演海雾产品对我国自主研发的GRAPES-TYM模式进行了海雾预报性能评估。点、面检验结果表明：模式48 h和72 h TS分别为0.40和0.36,黄海海雾预报性能最优,34°～37°N海域内大部分站点TS高于0.50。黄海海雾落区预报检验显示均压场形势下预报最准确,平均临界成功指数为0.35;气旋后部海雾多空报。2 m相对湿度预报偏差具有局地性特征,相对湿度低估的站海雾预报击中率、TS相对低,反之亦然。另外,模式对成雾相关气象要素预报误差相对小且对成雾有利时海雾预报基本正确;模式预报风向较实际风向偏东南,易出现冷偏差和湿偏差,虚假的有利温湿条件导致海雾空报。     

Possible sources of forecast errors generated by the global/regional assimilation and prediction system for landfalling tropical cyclones. Part I: Initial uncertainties

This paper investigates the possible sources of errors associated with tropical cyclone (TC) tracks forecasted using the Global/Regional Assimilation and Prediction System (GRAPES). The GRAPES forecasts were made for 16 landfalling TCs in the western North Pacific basin during the 2008 and 2009 seasons, with a forecast length of 72 hours, and using the default initial conditions (“initials”, hereafter), which are from the NCEP-FNL dataset, as well as ECMWF initials. The forecasts are compared with ECMWF forecasts. The results show that in most TCs, the GRAPES forecasts are improved when using the ECMWF initials compared with the default initials. Compared with the ECMWF initials, the default initials produce lower intensity TCs and a lower intensity subtropical high, but a higher intensity South Asia high and monsoon trough, as well as a higher temperature but lower specific humidity at the TC center. Replacement of the geopotential height and wind fields with the ECMWF initials in and around the TC center at the initial time was found to be the most efficient way to improve the forecasts. In addition, TCs that showed the greatest improvement in forecast accuracy usually had the largest initial uncertainties in TC intensity and were usually in the intensifying phase. The results demonstrate the importance of the initial intensity for TC track forecasts made using GRAPES, and indicate the model is better in describing the intensifying phase than the decaying phase of TCs. Finally, the limit of the improvement indicates that the model error associated with GRAPES forecasts may be the main cause of poor forecasts of landfalling TCs. Thus, further examinations of the model errors are required.     

Validation of a homogeneous 41-year (1961–2001) winter precipitation hindcasted dataset over the Iberian Peninsula: assessment of the regional improvement of global reanalysis

A 44-year (1958–2001) homogeneous, Mediterranean, high-resolution atmospheric database was generated through dynamical downscaling within the HIPOCAS (Hindcast of Dynamic Processes of the Ocean and Coastal Areas of Europe) Project framework. This work attempts to provide a validation of the monthly winter HIPOCAS precipitation over the Iberian Peninsula and the Balearic Islands and to evaluate the potential improvement of these new hindcasted data versus global reanalysis datasets. The validation was performed through the comparative analysis with a precipitation database derived from 4,617 in situ stations located over Iberia and the Balearics. The statistical comparative analysis between the observed and the HIPOCAS fields highlights their very good agreement not only in terms of spatial and time distribution, but also in terms of total amount of precipitation. A principal component analysis is carried out, showing that the patterns derived from the HIPOCAS data largely capture the main characteristics of the observed field. Moreover, it is worth to note that the HIPOCAS patterns reproduce accurately the observed regional characteristics linked to the main orographic features of the study domain. The existence of high correlations between the hindcasted and observed principal component time series gives a measure of the model performance ability. An additional comparative study of the HIPOCAS winter precipitation with global reanalysis data (NCEP and ERA) is performed. This study reveals the important regional improvement in the characterization of the observed precipitation introduced by the HIPOCAS hindcast relative to the above global reanalyses. Such improvement is effective not only in terms of total amount values, but also in the spatial distribution, the observed field being much more realistically reproduced by HIPOCAS than by the global reanalysis data.     

谱逼近方法在东亚夏季降水区域模式模拟中的适用性研究:区域大小和位置的影响

利用区域气候模式 MM5V3 对1991、1998和2003年的东亚夏季降水进行了模拟.首先通过6个嵌套区域大小、位置的敏感性试验,研究了区域气候模式在东亚地区的模拟对嵌套区域的敏感性.在此基础上研究了谱逼近方案对降低此敏感性的作用.结果表明:(1)区域气候模式MM5V3能够基本模拟出东亚夏季极端降水的分布特征和强度变...     

热带气旋“苏迪罗”（2015）海上活动时段降水物理过程模拟诊断研究

利用WRF模式对2015年热带气旋（TC）"苏迪罗"发展演变过程开展高分辨率数值模拟,模式较好地再现了"苏迪罗"路径、强度、高低空环流、云系演变和降水分布等。应用三维地面降水诊断方程对"苏迪罗"海上活动时段的降水物理过程模拟诊断指出,Q_WVA（三维水汽通量辐合辐散率）对TC环流区域内降水相关的水汽相关过程变率（Q_WV）变化起主导作用,但环流区域内Q_WVL（垂直积分负的水汽局地变化率）和Q_WVE（海面蒸发率）亦有重要贡献（尤其是后者）,尽管Q_WVE贡献明显小于Q_WVA,但由环流区域外辐合来的水汽也可能主要源于区域外不同海域的海面蒸发,海面蒸发的总体贡献应更大。海上活动时段云相关过程变率（Q_CM）特征及变化与Q_WV相比更为复杂,环流区域内的Q_CLL（负的液相水凝物局地变率）基本维持正值（液相水凝物持续减少）,其消耗主要用于向冰相水凝物转化和地面降水,以及向区域外的三维通量辐散,6日04时之前,环流区域内Q_CIL（负的冰相水凝物局地变率）的变化主要归因于微物理转化及地面降水,而6日04时之后,来自环流区域外的通量辐合也有一定作用;降水强度逐渐增强时期,水凝物含量的短暂增长（负值Q_CLL和Q_CIL）主要归因于明显增强和垂直扩展的上升运动,伴随上升运动增强,水凝物含量明显增加,霰融化（P_gmlt）和雨滴碰并云滴（P_racw）是造成雨滴含量增加的主要微物理过程。"苏迪罗"环流内区域和时间平均的降水效率高达96%,其中Q_WVA是主要贡献项,而Q_WVE和Q_WVL亦有重要贡献,这与TC所处海洋下垫面有关,海上活动时段,充足的降水源和较小的降水汇共同造成此时段的高降水效率,雨滴生成主要微物理来源中,P_gmlt约占P_racw的72%,体现出海上活动时段TC环流内旺盛的深对流活动特征。     

Multi-Year Simulations and Experimental Seasonal Predictions for Rainy Seasons in China by Using a Nested Regional Climate Model （RegCM_NCC） Part Ⅱ： The Experimental Seasonal Prediction

A nested regional climate model has been experimentally used in the seasonal prediction at the China National Climate Center (NCC) since 2001. The NCC/IAP (Institute of Atmospheric Physics) T63 coupled GCM (CGCM) provides the boundary and initial conditions for driving the regional climate model (RegCM NCC). The latter has a 60-km horizontal resolution and improved physical parameterization schemes including the mass flux cumulus parameterization scheme, the turbulent kinetic energy closure scheme (TKE) and an improved land process model (LPM). The large-scale terrain features such as the Tibetan Plateau are included in the larger domain to produce the topographic forcing on the rain-producing systems. A sensitivity study of the East Asian climate with regard to the above physical processes has been presented in the first part of the present paper. This is the second part, as a continuation of Part I. In order to verify the performance of the nested regional climate model, a ten-year simulation driven by NCEP reanalysis datasets has been made to explore the performance of the East Asian climate simulation and to identify the model’s systematic errors. At the same time, comparative simulation experiments for 5 years between the RegCM2 and RegCM NCC have been done to further understand their differences in simulation performance. Also, a ten-year hindcast (1991–2000) for summer (June–August), the rainy season in China, has been undertaken. The preliminary results have shown that the RegCM NCC is capable of predicting the major seasonal rain belts. The best predicted regions with high anomaly correlation coefficient (ACC) are located in the eastern part of West China, in Northeast China and in North China, where the CGCM has maximum prediction skill as well. This fact may reflect the importance of the largescale forcing. One significant improvement of the prediction derived from RegCM NCC is the increase of ACC in the Yangtze River valley where the CGCM has a very low, even a negative, ACC. The reason behind this improvement is likely to be related to the more realistic representation of the large-scale terrain features of the Tibetan Plateau. Presumably, many rain-producing systems may be generated over or near the Tibetan Plateau and may then move eastward along the Yangtze River basin steered by upper-level westerly airflow, thus leading to enhancement of rainfalls in the mid and lower basins of the Yangtze River. The real-time experimental predictions for summer in 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004 by using this nested RegCM NCC were made. The results are basically reasonable compared with the observations.     

Seasonal and global NOx production by lightning estimated from the Optical Transient Detector (OTD)

The Optical Transient Detector (OTD) lightning data for the 12‐month period of 1996 are used to estimate the seasonal and global distributions of lightning‐produced NO _x . The relatively small viewing footprint and the low detection efficiency of the OTD sensor and other difficulties require extrapolations of the OTD data to the actual global flash distributions. Furthermore, available measurements for the ratios of intracloud (IC) to cloud‐to‐ground (CG) flashes have been used to partition lightning counts for IC versus CG flashes from the OTD observations. The resulting lightning distributions are then used to calculate the global and seasonal production of NO _x , assuming a NO production rate of 6.2×10²⁵ molecules for each CG flash and 8.7×10²⁴ molecules for each IC flash. Consequently, we find that CG flashes produce more NO _x than IC flashes despite fewer CG flashes by a factor of 3 or more. NO _x production by lightning varies seasonally in accordance with the global lightning distribution, with the maximum production occurring in the Northern Hemisphere in the local summer. The latitudinal distribution of NO _x production exhibits a strong seasonal variation outside the tropics with the production occurring mainly in the summer hemisphere, whereas in the tropics the production is high throughout the year. The annual contribution to NO _x production by lightning is higher in the Northern Hemisphere than that in the Southern Hemisphere.     

基于集合经验模态分解和自回归-移动平均模型的COVID-19流行病全球预测系统预测结果改进

2020年,新型冠状病毒肺炎(COVID-19)在世界范围内迅速传播.为准确预测各国每日新增发病人数,兰州大学开发了 COVID-19流行病全球预测系统(GPCP).在本文的研究中,我们使用集合经验模态分解(EEMD)模型和自回归-移动平均(ARMA)模型对GPCP的预测结果进行改进,并对发病人数较少或处于发病初期,不...     

Sensitivity of a regional climate model on the simulation of high intensity rainfall events over the Arabian Peninsula and around Jeddah (Saudi Arabia)

As a step towards the adoption and use of the regional climate model (RegCM3) for the simulation of intense rainfall events over the Arabian Peninsula, this study examines its sensitivity to domain size, boundary location, forcing fields, and resolution. In the climatological results, RegCM3 performs well in reproducing the annual and the seasonal mean precipitation as well as the contrast between wet and dry years in terms of the amounts and locations of the rainbands. In addition, simulations are performed for two cases of intense rainfall events in the Jeddah area and surroundings using a combination of three domains and two boundary forcings at 50?km. The results show that different combinations of these parameters provide different skills for the regional model. However, RegCM3 performs relatively better when ERA40 (NNRP2) is used at the boundaries in the smaller domain (larger domain), indicating the importance of the stronger (relatively weaker) influence of boundary forcing needed to capture these intense rainfall events around Jeddah. This may be explained by the fact that around that region, RegCM3 produces, in the smaller domain, higher relative humidity and stronger wind vectors closer to the reanalyses when nested within the ERA40, while it shows its best performance with the larger domain when driven by NNRP2. It is also shown that the use of high resolution does not systematically improve the simulation of such events, although some encouraging results were produced.     

亚洲和南半球大气热源（汇）对亚洲夏季风影响的数值试验

利用NCAR CAM3.1模式及NCEP/NCAR (version 1)再分析资料计算出来的几种大气热源分布情况,分别讨论亚洲各地区和南半球上空夏季大气加热场(热源或冷源)对东亚季风环流系统和印度季风环流系统形成的影响.结果表明:(1)东亚地区上空的大气热源和澳大利亚冷源与东亚夏季风环流关系密切,东亚大陆上空及西太平...