In this study, using the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory Climate Model version 2pl （GFDL CM2pl） coupled model, the winter predictability barrier （WPB） is found to exist in the model not only in the growing p...In this study, using the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory Climate Model version 2pl （GFDL CM2pl） coupled model, the winter predictability barrier （WPB） is found to exist in the model not only in the growing phase but also the Indian Ocean dipole （IOD） decaying phase of positive events due to the effect of initial errors. In particular, the WPB is stronger in the growing phase than in the decaying phase. These results indicate that initial errors can cause the WPB. The domi- nant patterns of the initial errors that cause the occurrence of the WPB often present an eastern-western dipole both in the surface and subsurface temperature components. These initial errors tend to concentrate in a few areas, and these areas may represent the sensitive areas of the predictions of positive IOD events. By increasing observations over these areas and eliminating initial errors here, the WPB phenomenon may be largely weakened and the forecast skill greatly improved.展开更多
Initial errors in the tropical Indian Ocean(IO-related initial errors) that are most likely to yield the Spring Prediction Barrier(SPB) for La Ni?a forecasts are explored by using the CESM model.These initial errors c...Initial errors in the tropical Indian Ocean(IO-related initial errors) that are most likely to yield the Spring Prediction Barrier(SPB) for La Ni?a forecasts are explored by using the CESM model.These initial errors can be classified into two types.Type-1 initial error consists of positive sea temperature errors in the western Indian Ocean and negative sea temperature errors in the eastern Indian Ocean,while the spatial structure of Type-2 initial error is nearly opposite.Both kinds of IO-related initial errors induce positive prediction errors of sea temperature in the Pacific Ocean,leading to underprediction of La Nina events.Type-1 initial error in the tropical Indian Ocean mainly influences the SSTA in the tropical Pacific Ocean via atmospheric bridge,leading to the development of localized sea temperature errors in the eastern Pacific Ocean.However,for Type-2 initial error,its positive sea temperature errors in the eastern Indian Ocean can induce downwelling error and influence La Ni?a predictions through an oceanic channel called Indonesian Throughflow.Based on the location of largest SPB-related initial errors,the sensitive area in the tropical Indian Ocean for La Nina predictions is identified.Furthermore,sensitivity experiments show that applying targeted observations in this sensitive area is very useful in decreasing prediction errors of La Nina.Therefore,adopting a targeted observation strategy in the tropical Indian Ocean is a promising approach toward increasing ENSO prediction skill.展开更多
Most ocean-atmosphere coupled models have difficulty in predicting the E1 Nifio-Southern Oscillation （ENSO） when starting from the boreal spring season. However, the cause of this spring predictability barrier （SPB...Most ocean-atmosphere coupled models have difficulty in predicting the E1 Nifio-Southern Oscillation （ENSO） when starting from the boreal spring season. However, the cause of this spring predictability barrier （SPB） phenomenon remains elusive. We investigated the spatial characteristics of optimal initial errors that cause a significant SPB for E1 Nifio events by using the monthly mean data of the pre-industrial （PI） control runs from several models in CMIP5 experiments. The results indicated that the SPB-related optimal initial errors often present an SST pattern with positive errors in the central-eastern equatorial Pa- cific, and a subsurface temperature pattern with positive errors in the upper layers of the eastern equatorial Pacific, and nega- tive errors in the lower layers of the western equatorial Pacific. The SPB-related optimal initial errors exhibit a typical La Ni- fia-like evolving mode, ultimately causing a large but negative prediction error of the Nifio-3.4 SST anomalies for El Nifio events. The negative prediction errors were found to originate from the lower layers of the western equatorial Pacific and then grow to be large in the eastern equatorial Pacific. It is therefore reasonable to suggest that the E1 Nifio predictions may be most sensitive to the initial errors of temperature in the subsurface layers of the western equatorial Pacific and the Nifio-3.4 region, thus possibly representing sensitive areas for adaptive observation. That is, if additional observations were to be preferentially deployed in these two regions, it might be possible to avoid large prediction errors for E1 Nifio and generate a better forecast than one based on additional observations targeted elsewhere. Moreover, we also confirmed that the SPB-related optimal initial errors bear a strong resemblance to the optimal precursory disturbance for E1 Nifio and La Nifia events. This indicated that im- provement of the observation network by additional observations in the identified sensitive areas would also be helpful in de- tecting the signals provided by the precursory disturbance, which may greatly improve the ENSO prediction skill.展开更多
This study explored the spatial patterns of winter predictability barrier(WPB)-related optimal initial errors and optimal precursors for positive Indian Ocean dipole(IOD)events,and the associated physical mechanisms f...This study explored the spatial patterns of winter predictability barrier(WPB)-related optimal initial errors and optimal precursors for positive Indian Ocean dipole(IOD)events,and the associated physical mechanisms for their developments were analyzed using the Simple Ocean Data Assimilation dataset.Without consideration of the effects of model errors on"predictions,"it was assumed that different"predictions"are caused by different initial conditions.The two types of WPB-related optimal initial errors are almost opposite for the start months of July(-1)and July(0),although they both present a west-east dipole pattern in the tropical Indian Ocean,with the maximum errors located at the thermocline depth.Bjerknes feedback and ocean waves play important roles in the growth of prediction errors.These two physical mechanisms compete during July-December and ocean waves dominate during January-June.The spatial patterns of optimal precursors and the physical mechanisms for their developments are similar to those of WPB-related optimal initial errors.It is worth noting that large values of WPB-related optimal initial errors and optimal precursors are concentrated within a few locations,which probably represent the sensitive areas of targeted observations for positive IOD events.The great similarities between WPB-related optimal initial errors and optimal precursors suggest that were intensive observations performed over these areas,this would not only reduce initial errors and thus,prediction errors,but it would also permit the detection of the signal of IOD events in advance,greatly improving the forecast skill of positive IOD events.展开更多
Previous studies indicate that ENSO predictions are particularly sensitive to the initial conditions in some key areas（socalled ＂sensitive areas＂）. And yet, few studies have quantified improvements in prediction s...Previous studies indicate that ENSO predictions are particularly sensitive to the initial conditions in some key areas（socalled ＂sensitive areas＂）. And yet, few studies have quantified improvements in prediction skill in the context of an optimal observing system. In this study, the impact on prediction skill is explored using an intermediate coupled model in which errors in initial conditions formed to make ENSO predictions are removed in certain areas. Based on ideal observing system simulation experiments, the importance of various observational networks on improvement of El Ni n？o prediction skill is examined. The results indicate that the initial states in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific are important to improve El Ni n？o prediction skill effectively. When removing the initial condition errors in the central equatorial Pacific, ENSO prediction errors can be reduced by 25%. Furthermore, combinations of various subregions are considered to demonstrate the efficiency on ENSO prediction skill. Particularly, seasonally varying observational networks are suggested to improve the prediction skill more effectively. For example, in addition to observing in the central equatorial Pacific and its north throughout the year,increasing observations in the eastern equatorial Pacific during April to October is crucially important, which can improve the prediction accuracy by 62%. These results also demonstrate the effectiveness of the conditional nonlinear optimal perturbation approach on detecting sensitive areas for target observations.展开更多
The initial errors constitute one of the main limiting factors in the ability to predict the E1 Nino-Southem Oscillation （ENSO） in ocean-atmosphere coupled models. The conditional nonlinear optimal perturbation （C...The initial errors constitute one of the main limiting factors in the ability to predict the E1 Nino-Southem Oscillation （ENSO） in ocean-atmosphere coupled models. The conditional nonlinear optimal perturbation （CNOP） approach was em- ployed to study the largest initial error growth in the E1 Nino predictions of an intermediate coupled model （ICM）. The optimal initial errors （as represented by CNOPs） in sea surface temperature anomalies （SSTAs） and sea level anomalies （SLAs） were obtained with seasonal variation. The CNOP-induced perturbations, which tend to evolve into the La Nifia mode, were found to have the same dynamics as ENSO itself. This indicates that, if CNOP-type errors are present in the initial conditions used to make a prediction of E1 Nino, the E1 Nino event tends to be under-predicted. In particular, compared with other seasonal CNOPs, the CNOPs in winter can induce the largest error growth, which gives rise to an ENSO amplitude that is hardly ever predicted accurately. Additionally, it was found that the CNOP-induced perturbations exhibit a strong spring predictability barrier （SPB） phenomenon for ENSO prediction. These results offer a way to enhance ICM prediction skill and, particularly, weaken the SPB phenomenon by filtering the CNOP-type errors in the initial state. The characteristic distributions of the CNOPs derived from the ICM also provide useful information for targeted observations through data assimilation. Given the fact that the derived CNOPs are season-dependent, it is suggested that seasonally varying targeted observations should be implemented to accurately predict ENSO events.展开更多
ABSTRACT The impact of both initial and parameter errors on the spring predictability barrier （SPB） is investigated using the Zebiak Cane model （ZC model）. Previous studies have shown that initial errors contribu...ABSTRACT The impact of both initial and parameter errors on the spring predictability barrier （SPB） is investigated using the Zebiak Cane model （ZC model）. Previous studies have shown that initial errors contribute more to the SPB than parameter errors in the ZC model. Although parameter errors themselves are less important, there is a possibility that nonlinear interactions can occur between the two types of errors, leading to larger prediction errors compared with those induced by initial errors alone. In this case, the impact of parameter errors cannot be overlooked. In the present paper, the optimal combination of these two types of errors [i.e., conditional nonlinear optimal perturbation （CNOP） errors] is calculated to investigate whether this optimal error combination may cause a more notable SPB phenomenon than that caused by initial errors alone. Using the CNOP approach, the CNOP errors and CNOP-I errors （optimal errors when only initial errors are considered） are calculated and then three aspects of error growth are compared： （1） the tendency of the seasonal error growth; （2） the prediction error of the sea surface temperature anomaly; and （3） the pattern of error growth. All three aspects show that the CNOP errors do not cause a more significant SPB than the CNOP-I errors. Therefore, this result suggests that we could improve the prediction of the E1 Nifio during spring by simply focusing on reducing the initial errors in this model.展开更多
In this study, the relationship between the limit of predictability and initial error was investigated using two simple chaotic systems： the Lorenz model, which possesses a single characteristic time scale, and the c...In this study, the relationship between the limit of predictability and initial error was investigated using two simple chaotic systems： the Lorenz model, which possesses a single characteristic time scale, and the coupled Lorenz model, which possesses two different characteristic time scales. The limit of predictability is defined here as the time at which the error reaches 95% of its saturation level; nonlinear behaviors of the error growth are therefore involved in the definition of the limit of predictability. Our results show that the logarithmic function performs well in describing the relationship between the limit of predictability and initial error in both models, although the coefficients in the logarithmic function were not constant across the examined range of initial errors. Compared with the Lorenz model, in the coupled Lorenz model in which the slow dynamics and the fast dynamics interact with each other--there is a more complex relationship between the limit of predictability and initial error. The limit of predictability of the Lorenz model is unbounded as the initial error becomes infinitesimally small; therefore, the limit of predictability of the Lorenz model may be extended by reducing the amplitude of the initial error. In contrast, if there exists a fixed initial error in the fast dynamics of the coupled Lorenz model, the slow dynamics has an intrinsic finite limit of predictability that cannot be extended by reducing the amplitude of the initial error in the slow dynamics, and vice versa. The findings reported here reveal the possible existence of an intrinsic finite limit of predictability in a coupled system that possesses many scales of time or motion.展开更多
Industrial robot system is a kind of dynamic system w ith strong nonlinear coupling and high position precision. A lot of control ways , such as nonlinear feedbackdecomposition motion and adaptive control and so o n, ...Industrial robot system is a kind of dynamic system w ith strong nonlinear coupling and high position precision. A lot of control ways , such as nonlinear feedbackdecomposition motion and adaptive control and so o n, have been used to control this kind of system, but there are some deficiencie s in those methods: some need accurate and some need complicated operation and e tc. In recent years, in need of controlling the industrial robots, aiming at com pletely tracking the ideal input for the controlled subject with repetitive character, a new research area, ILC (iterative learning control), has been devel oped in the control technology and theory. The iterative learning control method can make the controlled subject operate as desired in a definite time span, merely making use of the prior control experie nce of the system and searching for the desired control signal according to the practical and desired output signal. The process of searching is equal to that o f learning, during which we only need to measure the output signal to amend the control signal, not like the adaptive control strategy, which on line assesses t he complex parameters of the system. Besides, since the iterative learning contr ol relies little on the prior message of the subject, it has been well used in a lot of areas, especially the dynamic systems with strong non-linear coupling a nd high repetitive position precision and the control system with batch producti on. Since robot manipulator has the above-mentioned character, ILC can be very well used in robot manipulator. In the ILC, since the operation always begins with a certain initial state, init ial condition has been required in almost all convergence verification. Therefor e, in designing the controller, the initial state has to be restricted with some condition to guarantee the convergence of the algorithm. The settle of initial condition problem has long been pursued in the ILC. There are commonly two kinds of initial condition problems: one is zero initial error problem, another is non-zero initial error problem. In practice, the repe titive operation will invariably produce excursion of the iterative initial stat e from the desired initial state. As a result, the research on the second in itial problem has more practical meaning. In this paper, for the non-zero initial error problem, one novel robust ILC alg orithms, respectively combining PD type iterative learning control algorithm wit h the robust feedback control algorithm, has been presented. This novel robust ILC algorithm contain two parts: feedforward ILC algorithm and robust feedback algorithm, which can be used to restrain disturbance from param eter variation, mechanical nonlinearities and unmodeled dynamics and to achieve good performance as well. The feedforward ILC algorithm can be used to improve the tracking error and perf ormance of the system through iteratively learning from the previous operation, thus performing the tracking task very fast. The robust feedback algorithm could mainly be applied to make the real output of the system not deviate too much fr om the desired tracking trajectory, and guarantee the system’s robustness w hen there are exterior noises and variations of the system parameter. In this paper, in order to analyze the convergence of the algorithm, Lyapunov st ability theory has been used through properly selecting the Lyapunov function. T he result of the verification shows the feasibility of the novel robust iterativ e learning control in theory. Finally, aiming at the two-freedom rate robot, simulation has been made with th e MATLAB software. Furthermore, two groups of parameters are selected to validat e the robustness of the algorithm.展开更多
Initial errors and model errors are the source of prediction errors. In this study, the authors compute the conditional nonlinear optimal perturbation （CNOP）-type initial errors and nonlinear forcing singular vector...Initial errors and model errors are the source of prediction errors. In this study, the authors compute the conditional nonlinear optimal perturbation （CNOP）-type initial errors and nonlinear forcing singular vector （NFSV）- type tendency errors of the Zebiak-Cane model with respect to El Nifio events and analyze their combined effect on the prediction errors for E1 Nino events. The CNOP- type initial error （NFSV-type tendency error） represents the initial errors （model errors） that have the largest effect on prediction uncertainties for E1 Nifio events under the perfect model （perfect initial conditions） scenario. How- ever, when the CNOP-type initial errors and the NFSV- type tendency errors are simultaneously considered in the model, the prediction errors caused by them are not am- plified as the authors expected. Specifically, the predic- tion errors caused by the combined mode of CNOP-type initial errors and NFSV-type tendency errors are a little larger than those caused by the NFSV-type tendency er- rors. This fact emphasizes a need to investigate the opti- mal combined mode of initial errors and tendency errors that cause the largest prediction error for E1 Nifio events.展开更多
In the numerical prediction of weather or climate events,the uncertainty of the initial values and/or prediction models can bring the forecast result’s uncertainty.Due to the absence of true states,studies on this pr...In the numerical prediction of weather or climate events,the uncertainty of the initial values and/or prediction models can bring the forecast result’s uncertainty.Due to the absence of true states,studies on this problem mainly focus on the three subproblems of predictability,i.e.,the lower bound of the maximum predictable time,the upper bound of the prediction error,and the lower bound of the maximum allowable initial error.Aimed at the problem of the lower bound estimation of the maximum allowable initial error,this study first illustrates the shortcoming of the existing estimation,and then presents a new estimation based on the initial observation precision and proves it theoretically.Furthermore,the new lower bound estimations of both the two-dimensional ikeda model and lorenz96 model are obtained by using the cnop(conditional nonlinear optimal perturbation)method and a pso(particle swarm optimization)algorithm,and the estimated precisions are also analyzed.Besides,the estimations yielded by the existing and new formulas are compared;the results show that the estimations produced by the existing formula are often incorrect.展开更多
In this study, the predictability of the El Nino-South Oscillation(ENSO) in an operational prediction model from the perspective of initial errors is diagnosed using the seasonal hindcasts of the Beijing Climate Cente...In this study, the predictability of the El Nino-South Oscillation(ENSO) in an operational prediction model from the perspective of initial errors is diagnosed using the seasonal hindcasts of the Beijing Climate Center System Model,BCC;SM1.1(m). Forecast skills during the different ENSO phases are analyzed and it is shown that the ENSO forecasts appear to be more challenging during the developing phase, compared to the decay phase. During ENSO development, the SST prediction errors are significantly negative and cover a large area in the central and eastern tropical Pacific, thus limiting the model skill in predicting the intensity of El Nino. The large-scale SST errors, at their early stage, are generated gradually in terms of negative anomalies in the subsurface ocean temperature over the central-western equatorial Pacific,featuring an error evolutionary process similar to that of El Nino decay and the transition to the La Nina growth phase.Meanwhile, for short lead-time ENSO predictions, the initial wind errors begin to play an increasing role, particularly in linking with the subsurface heat content errors in the central-western Pacific. By comparing the multiple samples of initial fields in the model, it is clearly found that poor SST predictions of the Nino-3.4 region are largely due to contributions of the initial errors in certain specific locations in the tropical Pacific. This demonstrates that those sensitive areas for initial fields in ENSO prediction are fairly consistent in both previous ideal experiments and our operational predictions,indicating the need for targeted observations to further improve operational forecasts of ENSO.展开更多
Using the outputs from CMCC-CM in CMIP5 experiments,the authors identified sensitive areas for targeted observations in ENSO forecasting from the perspective of the initial error growth(IEG)method and the particle fil...Using the outputs from CMCC-CM in CMIP5 experiments,the authors identified sensitive areas for targeted observations in ENSO forecasting from the perspective of the initial error growth(IEG)method and the particle filter(PF)method.Results showed that the PF targets areas over the central-eastern equatorial Pacific,while the sensitive areas determined by the IEG method are slightly to the east of the former.Although a small part of the areas targeted by the IEG method also lie in the southeast equatorial Pacific,this does not affect the large-scale overlapping of the sensitive areas determined by these two methods in the eastern equatorial Pacific.Therefore,sensitive areas determined by the two methods are mutually supportive.When considering the uncertainty of methods for determining sensitive areas in realistic targeted observation,it is more reasonable to choose the above overlapping areas as sensitive areas for ENSO forecasting.This result provides scientific guidance for how to better determine sensitive areas for ENSO forecasting.展开更多
The spatial propagation of meso-and small-scale errors in a Meiyu frontal heavy rainfall event,which occurred in eastern China during 4-6 July 2003,is investigated by using the mesoscale numerical model MM5.In general...The spatial propagation of meso-and small-scale errors in a Meiyu frontal heavy rainfall event,which occurred in eastern China during 4-6 July 2003,is investigated by using the mesoscale numerical model MM5.In general,the spatial propagation of simulated errors depends on their horizontal scales.Small-scale（L 〈 100 km） initial error may spread rapidly as an isotropic circle through the sound wave.Then,many scattered convection-scale errors are triggered in moist convection zone that will spread abroad through the isotropic,round-shaped sound wave further more.Corresponding to the evolution of the rainfall system,several new convection-scale errors may be generated continuously by moist convection within the propagated round-shaped errors.Through the above circular process,the small-scale error increases in amplitude and grows in scale rapidly.Mesoscale（100 km 〈 L 〈 1000 km） initial error propagates up-and down-stream wavelike through the gravity wave,meanwhile migrating down-stream slowly along with the rainfall system by the mean flow.The up-stream propagation of the mesoscale error is very important to the error growth because it can accumulate error energy locally at a place where there is no moist convection and far upstream from the initial perturbation source.Although moist convection plays an important role in the rapid growth of errors,it has no impact on the propagation of meso-and small-scale errors.The diabatic heating could trigger,strengthen,and promote upscaling of small-scale errors successively,and provide ＂error source＂ to error growth and propagation.The rapid growth of simulated errors results from both intense moist convection and appropriate spatial propagation of the errors.展开更多
The numerical solution of Boussinesq equations is worked out as an initial-value problem to study the effect of the instabilities of flow on the initial error growth and mesoscale predictability. The development of we...The numerical solution of Boussinesq equations is worked out as an initial-value problem to study the effect of the instabilities of flow on the initial error growth and mesoscale predictability. The development of weather systems depends on different dynamic instability mechanisms according to the spatial scales of the system and the development of mesoscale systems is determined by symmetric instability. Since symmetric instability dominates among the three types of dynamic instability, it makes the prediction of the associated mesoscale systems more sensitive to initial uncertainties. This indicates that the stronger instability leads to faster initial error growth and thus limits the mesoscale predictability. Besides dynamic instability, the impact of thermodynamic instability is also explored. The evolvement of convective instability manifests as dramatic variation in small spatial scale and short temporal scale, and furthermore, it exhibits the upscale growth. Since these features determine the initial error growth, the mesoscale systems arising from convective instability are less predictable and the upscale error growth limits the predictability of larger scales. The latent heating is responsible for changing the stability of flow and subsequently influencing the error growth and the predictability.展开更多
Using predictions for the sea surface temperature anomaly(SSTA) generated by an intermediate coupled model(ICM)ensemble prediction system(EPS), we first explore the "spring predictability barrier"(SPB) probl...Using predictions for the sea surface temperature anomaly(SSTA) generated by an intermediate coupled model(ICM)ensemble prediction system(EPS), we first explore the "spring predictability barrier"(SPB) problem for the 2015/16 strong El Nio event from the perspective of error growth. By analyzing the growth tendency of the prediction errors for ensemble forecast members, we conclude that the prediction errors for the 2015/16 El Nio event tended to show a distinct season-dependent evolution, with prominent growth in spring and/or the beginning of the summer. This finding indicates that the predictions for the 2015/16 El Nio occurred a significant SPB phenomenon. We show that the SPB occurred in the 2015/16 El Nio predictions did not arise because of the uncertainties in the initial conditions but because of model errors. As such, the mean of ensemble forecast members filtered the effect of model errors and weakened the effect of the SPB, ultimately reducing the prediction errors for the 2015/16 El Nio event. By investigating the model errors represented by the tendency errors for the SSTA component,we demonstrate the prominent features of the tendency errors that often cause an SPB for the 2015/16 El Nio event and explain why the 2015/16 El Nio was under-predicted by the ICM EPS. Moreover, we reveal the typical feature of the tendency errors that cause not only a significant SPB but also an aggressively large prediction error. The feature is that the tendency errors present a zonal dipolar pattern with the west poles of positive anomalies in the equatorial western Pacific and the east poles of negative anomalies in the equatorial eastern Pacific. This tendency error bears great similarities with that of the most sensitive nonlinear forcing singular vector(NFSV)-tendency errors reported by Duan et al. and demonstrates the existence of an NFSV tendency error in realistic predictions. For other strong El Nio events, such as those that occurred in 1982/83 and 1997/98, we obtain the tendency errors of the NFSV structure, which cause a significant SPB and yield a much larger prediction error. These results suggest that the forecast skill of the ICM EPS for strong El Nio events could be greatly enhanced by using the NFSV-like tendency error to correct the model.展开更多
The Advanced Regional Eta-coordinate Model （AREM） is used to explore the predictability of a heavy rainfall event along the Meiyu front in China during 3-4 July 2003. Based on the sensitivity of precipitation predic...The Advanced Regional Eta-coordinate Model （AREM） is used to explore the predictability of a heavy rainfall event along the Meiyu front in China during 3-4 July 2003. Based on the sensitivity of precipitation prediction to initial data sources and initial uncertainties in different variables, the evolution of error growth and the associated mechanism are described and discussed in detail in this paper. The results indicate that the smaller-amplitude initial error presents a faster growth rate and its growth is characterized by a transition from localized growth to widespread expansion error. Such modality of the error growth is closely related to the evolvement of the precipitation episode, and consequently remarkable forecast divergence is found near the rainband, indicating that the rainfall area is a sensitive region for error growth. The initial error in the rainband contributes significantly to the forecast divergence, and its amplification and propagation are largely determined by the initial moisture distribution. The moisture condition also affects the error growth on smaller scales and the subsequent upscale error cascade. In addition, the error growth defined by an energy norm reveals that large error energy collocates well with the strong latent heating, implying that the occurrence of precipitation and error growth share the same energy source-the latent heat. This may impose an intrinsic predictability limit on the prediction of heavy precipitation.展开更多
Extended range forecasting of 10-30 days, which lies between medium-term and climate prediction in terms of timescale, plays a significant role in decision-making processes for the prevention and mitigation of disastr...Extended range forecasting of 10-30 days, which lies between medium-term and climate prediction in terms of timescale, plays a significant role in decision-making processes for the prevention and mitigation of disastrous met- eorological events. The sensitivity of initial error, model parameter error, and random error in a nonlinear cross- prediction error （NCPE） model, and their stability in the prediction validity period in 1 0-30-day extended range fore- casting, are analyzed quantitatively. The associated sensitivity of precipitable water, temperature, and geopotential height during cases of heavy rain and hurricane is also discussed. The results are summarized as follows. First, the initial error and random error interact. When the ratio of random error to initial error is small （10＂5-10-2）, minor vari- ation in random error cannot significantly change the dynamic features of a chaotic system, and therefore random er- ror has minimal effect on the prediction. When the ratio is in the range of 10-1-2 （i.e., random error dominates）, at- tention should be paid to the random error instead of only the initial error. When the ratio is around 10 2-10-1, both influences must be considered. Their mutual effects may bring considerable uncertainty to extended range forecast- ing, and de-noising is therefore necessary. Second, in terms of model parameter error, the embedding dimension m should be determined by the factual nonlinear time series. The dynamic features of a chaotic system cannot be depic- ted because of the incomplete structure of the attractor when m is small. When m is large, prediction indicators can vanish because of the scarcity of phase points in phase space. A method for overcoming the cut-off effect （m 〉 4） is proposed. Third, for heavy rains, precipitable water is more sensitive to the prediction validity period than temperat- ure or geopotential height; however, for hurricanes, geopotential height is most sensitive, followed by precipitable water.展开更多
基金sponsored by the National Basic Research Program of China (Grant No. 2012CB955202)the National Public Benefit (Meteorology) Research Foundation of China (Grant No. GYHY201306018)
文摘In this study, using the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory Climate Model version 2pl （GFDL CM2pl） coupled model, the winter predictability barrier （WPB） is found to exist in the model not only in the growing phase but also the Indian Ocean dipole （IOD） decaying phase of positive events due to the effect of initial errors. In particular, the WPB is stronger in the growing phase than in the decaying phase. These results indicate that initial errors can cause the WPB. The domi- nant patterns of the initial errors that cause the occurrence of the WPB often present an eastern-western dipole both in the surface and subsurface temperature components. These initial errors tend to concentrate in a few areas, and these areas may represent the sensitive areas of the predictions of positive IOD events. By increasing observations over these areas and eliminating initial errors here, the WPB phenomenon may be largely weakened and the forecast skill greatly improved.
基金supported by the National Key R&D Program of China (Grant No.2019YFC1408004)together with the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos.41930971,41805069,41606031)the Office of China Postdoctoral Council (OCPC) under Award Number 20190003。
文摘Initial errors in the tropical Indian Ocean(IO-related initial errors) that are most likely to yield the Spring Prediction Barrier(SPB) for La Ni?a forecasts are explored by using the CESM model.These initial errors can be classified into two types.Type-1 initial error consists of positive sea temperature errors in the western Indian Ocean and negative sea temperature errors in the eastern Indian Ocean,while the spatial structure of Type-2 initial error is nearly opposite.Both kinds of IO-related initial errors induce positive prediction errors of sea temperature in the Pacific Ocean,leading to underprediction of La Nina events.Type-1 initial error in the tropical Indian Ocean mainly influences the SSTA in the tropical Pacific Ocean via atmospheric bridge,leading to the development of localized sea temperature errors in the eastern Pacific Ocean.However,for Type-2 initial error,its positive sea temperature errors in the eastern Indian Ocean can induce downwelling error and influence La Ni?a predictions through an oceanic channel called Indonesian Throughflow.Based on the location of largest SPB-related initial errors,the sensitive area in the tropical Indian Ocean for La Nina predictions is identified.Furthermore,sensitivity experiments show that applying targeted observations in this sensitive area is very useful in decreasing prediction errors of La Nina.Therefore,adopting a targeted observation strategy in the tropical Indian Ocean is a promising approach toward increasing ENSO prediction skill.
基金sponsored by the National Basic Research Program of China(Grant No.2012CB955200)the National Public Benefit(Meteorology)Research Foundation of China(Grant No.GYHY201306018)+2 种基金the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant Nos.41230420,41176013)Zhang Jing was supported by the Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions(PAPD)the Jiangsu Innovation Cultivation Project for Graduate Student(Grant No.CXZZ13_0502)
文摘Most ocean-atmosphere coupled models have difficulty in predicting the E1 Nifio-Southern Oscillation （ENSO） when starting from the boreal spring season. However, the cause of this spring predictability barrier （SPB） phenomenon remains elusive. We investigated the spatial characteristics of optimal initial errors that cause a significant SPB for E1 Nifio events by using the monthly mean data of the pre-industrial （PI） control runs from several models in CMIP5 experiments. The results indicated that the SPB-related optimal initial errors often present an SST pattern with positive errors in the central-eastern equatorial Pa- cific, and a subsurface temperature pattern with positive errors in the upper layers of the eastern equatorial Pacific, and nega- tive errors in the lower layers of the western equatorial Pacific. The SPB-related optimal initial errors exhibit a typical La Ni- fia-like evolving mode, ultimately causing a large but negative prediction error of the Nifio-3.4 SST anomalies for El Nifio events. The negative prediction errors were found to originate from the lower layers of the western equatorial Pacific and then grow to be large in the eastern equatorial Pacific. It is therefore reasonable to suggest that the E1 Nifio predictions may be most sensitive to the initial errors of temperature in the subsurface layers of the western equatorial Pacific and the Nifio-3.4 region, thus possibly representing sensitive areas for adaptive observation. That is, if additional observations were to be preferentially deployed in these two regions, it might be possible to avoid large prediction errors for E1 Nifio and generate a better forecast than one based on additional observations targeted elsewhere. Moreover, we also confirmed that the SPB-related optimal initial errors bear a strong resemblance to the optimal precursory disturbance for E1 Nifio and La Nifia events. This indicated that im- provement of the observation network by additional observations in the identified sensitive areas would also be helpful in de- tecting the signals provided by the precursory disturbance, which may greatly improve the ENSO prediction skill.
基金sponsored jointly by the National Programme on Global Change and Air-Sea Interaction(Grant No.GASIIPOVAI-06)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant Nos.41506032 & 41530961)
文摘This study explored the spatial patterns of winter predictability barrier(WPB)-related optimal initial errors and optimal precursors for positive Indian Ocean dipole(IOD)events,and the associated physical mechanisms for their developments were analyzed using the Simple Ocean Data Assimilation dataset.Without consideration of the effects of model errors on"predictions,"it was assumed that different"predictions"are caused by different initial conditions.The two types of WPB-related optimal initial errors are almost opposite for the start months of July(-1)and July(0),although they both present a west-east dipole pattern in the tropical Indian Ocean,with the maximum errors located at the thermocline depth.Bjerknes feedback and ocean waves play important roles in the growth of prediction errors.These two physical mechanisms compete during July-December and ocean waves dominate during January-June.The spatial patterns of optimal precursors and the physical mechanisms for their developments are similar to those of WPB-related optimal initial errors.It is worth noting that large values of WPB-related optimal initial errors and optimal precursors are concentrated within a few locations,which probably represent the sensitive areas of targeted observations for positive IOD events.The great similarities between WPB-related optimal initial errors and optimal precursors suggest that were intensive observations performed over these areas,this would not only reduce initial errors and thus,prediction errors,but it would also permit the detection of the signal of IOD events in advance,greatly improving the forecast skill of positive IOD events.
基金supported by the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant No. XDA19060102)the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 41475101, 41690122, 41690120 and 41421005)the National Programme on Global Change and Air–Sea Interaction Interaction (Grant Nos. GASI-IPOVAI-06 and GASI-IPOVAI-01-01)
文摘Previous studies indicate that ENSO predictions are particularly sensitive to the initial conditions in some key areas（socalled ＂sensitive areas＂）. And yet, few studies have quantified improvements in prediction skill in the context of an optimal observing system. In this study, the impact on prediction skill is explored using an intermediate coupled model in which errors in initial conditions formed to make ENSO predictions are removed in certain areas. Based on ideal observing system simulation experiments, the importance of various observational networks on improvement of El Ni n？o prediction skill is examined. The results indicate that the initial states in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific are important to improve El Ni n？o prediction skill effectively. When removing the initial condition errors in the central equatorial Pacific, ENSO prediction errors can be reduced by 25%. Furthermore, combinations of various subregions are considered to demonstrate the efficiency on ENSO prediction skill. Particularly, seasonally varying observational networks are suggested to improve the prediction skill more effectively. For example, in addition to observing in the central equatorial Pacific and its north throughout the year,increasing observations in the eastern equatorial Pacific during April to October is crucially important, which can improve the prediction accuracy by 62%. These results also demonstrate the effectiveness of the conditional nonlinear optimal perturbation approach on detecting sensitive areas for target observations.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NFSC Grant Nos. 41690122, 41690120, 41490644, 41490640 and 41475101)+5 种基金the Ao Shan Talents Program supported by Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology (Grant No. 2015ASTP)a Chinese Academy of Sciences Strategic Priority Projectthe Western Pacific Ocean System (Grant Nos. XDA11010105, XDA11020306)the NSFC–Shandong Joint Fund for Marine Science Research Centers (Grant No. U1406401)the National Natural Science Foundation of China Innovative Group Grant (Grant No. 41421005)the Taishan Scholarship and Qingdao Innovative Program (Grant No. 2014GJJS0101)
文摘The initial errors constitute one of the main limiting factors in the ability to predict the E1 Nino-Southem Oscillation （ENSO） in ocean-atmosphere coupled models. The conditional nonlinear optimal perturbation （CNOP） approach was em- ployed to study the largest initial error growth in the E1 Nino predictions of an intermediate coupled model （ICM）. The optimal initial errors （as represented by CNOPs） in sea surface temperature anomalies （SSTAs） and sea level anomalies （SLAs） were obtained with seasonal variation. The CNOP-induced perturbations, which tend to evolve into the La Nifia mode, were found to have the same dynamics as ENSO itself. This indicates that, if CNOP-type errors are present in the initial conditions used to make a prediction of E1 Nino, the E1 Nino event tends to be under-predicted. In particular, compared with other seasonal CNOPs, the CNOPs in winter can induce the largest error growth, which gives rise to an ENSO amplitude that is hardly ever predicted accurately. Additionally, it was found that the CNOP-induced perturbations exhibit a strong spring predictability barrier （SPB） phenomenon for ENSO prediction. These results offer a way to enhance ICM prediction skill and, particularly, weaken the SPB phenomenon by filtering the CNOP-type errors in the initial state. The characteristic distributions of the CNOPs derived from the ICM also provide useful information for targeted observations through data assimilation. Given the fact that the derived CNOPs are season-dependent, it is suggested that seasonally varying targeted observations should be implemented to accurately predict ENSO events.
基金jointly sponsored by the National Nature Scientific Foundation of China (Grant Nos.41230420 and 41006015)the National Basic Research Program of China (Grant No.2012CB417404)the Basic Research Program of Science and Technology Projects of Qingdao (Grant No11-1-4-95-jch)
文摘ABSTRACT The impact of both initial and parameter errors on the spring predictability barrier （SPB） is investigated using the Zebiak Cane model （ZC model）. Previous studies have shown that initial errors contribute more to the SPB than parameter errors in the ZC model. Although parameter errors themselves are less important, there is a possibility that nonlinear interactions can occur between the two types of errors, leading to larger prediction errors compared with those induced by initial errors alone. In this case, the impact of parameter errors cannot be overlooked. In the present paper, the optimal combination of these two types of errors [i.e., conditional nonlinear optimal perturbation （CNOP） errors] is calculated to investigate whether this optimal error combination may cause a more notable SPB phenomenon than that caused by initial errors alone. Using the CNOP approach, the CNOP errors and CNOP-I errors （optimal errors when only initial errors are considered） are calculated and then three aspects of error growth are compared： （1） the tendency of the seasonal error growth; （2） the prediction error of the sea surface temperature anomaly; and （3） the pattern of error growth. All three aspects show that the CNOP errors do not cause a more significant SPB than the CNOP-I errors. Therefore, this result suggests that we could improve the prediction of the E1 Nifio during spring by simply focusing on reducing the initial errors in this model.
基金sprovided jointly by the 973 Program (Grant No.2010CB950400)National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 40805022 and 40821092)
文摘In this study, the relationship between the limit of predictability and initial error was investigated using two simple chaotic systems： the Lorenz model, which possesses a single characteristic time scale, and the coupled Lorenz model, which possesses two different characteristic time scales. The limit of predictability is defined here as the time at which the error reaches 95% of its saturation level; nonlinear behaviors of the error growth are therefore involved in the definition of the limit of predictability. Our results show that the logarithmic function performs well in describing the relationship between the limit of predictability and initial error in both models, although the coefficients in the logarithmic function were not constant across the examined range of initial errors. Compared with the Lorenz model, in the coupled Lorenz model in which the slow dynamics and the fast dynamics interact with each other--there is a more complex relationship between the limit of predictability and initial error. The limit of predictability of the Lorenz model is unbounded as the initial error becomes infinitesimally small; therefore, the limit of predictability of the Lorenz model may be extended by reducing the amplitude of the initial error. In contrast, if there exists a fixed initial error in the fast dynamics of the coupled Lorenz model, the slow dynamics has an intrinsic finite limit of predictability that cannot be extended by reducing the amplitude of the initial error in the slow dynamics, and vice versa. The findings reported here reveal the possible existence of an intrinsic finite limit of predictability in a coupled system that possesses many scales of time or motion.
文摘Industrial robot system is a kind of dynamic system w ith strong nonlinear coupling and high position precision. A lot of control ways , such as nonlinear feedbackdecomposition motion and adaptive control and so o n, have been used to control this kind of system, but there are some deficiencie s in those methods: some need accurate and some need complicated operation and e tc. In recent years, in need of controlling the industrial robots, aiming at com pletely tracking the ideal input for the controlled subject with repetitive character, a new research area, ILC (iterative learning control), has been devel oped in the control technology and theory. The iterative learning control method can make the controlled subject operate as desired in a definite time span, merely making use of the prior control experie nce of the system and searching for the desired control signal according to the practical and desired output signal. The process of searching is equal to that o f learning, during which we only need to measure the output signal to amend the control signal, not like the adaptive control strategy, which on line assesses t he complex parameters of the system. Besides, since the iterative learning contr ol relies little on the prior message of the subject, it has been well used in a lot of areas, especially the dynamic systems with strong non-linear coupling a nd high repetitive position precision and the control system with batch producti on. Since robot manipulator has the above-mentioned character, ILC can be very well used in robot manipulator. In the ILC, since the operation always begins with a certain initial state, init ial condition has been required in almost all convergence verification. Therefor e, in designing the controller, the initial state has to be restricted with some condition to guarantee the convergence of the algorithm. The settle of initial condition problem has long been pursued in the ILC. There are commonly two kinds of initial condition problems: one is zero initial error problem, another is non-zero initial error problem. In practice, the repe titive operation will invariably produce excursion of the iterative initial stat e from the desired initial state. As a result, the research on the second in itial problem has more practical meaning. In this paper, for the non-zero initial error problem, one novel robust ILC alg orithms, respectively combining PD type iterative learning control algorithm wit h the robust feedback control algorithm, has been presented. This novel robust ILC algorithm contain two parts: feedforward ILC algorithm and robust feedback algorithm, which can be used to restrain disturbance from param eter variation, mechanical nonlinearities and unmodeled dynamics and to achieve good performance as well. The feedforward ILC algorithm can be used to improve the tracking error and perf ormance of the system through iteratively learning from the previous operation, thus performing the tracking task very fast. The robust feedback algorithm could mainly be applied to make the real output of the system not deviate too much fr om the desired tracking trajectory, and guarantee the system’s robustness w hen there are exterior noises and variations of the system parameter. In this paper, in order to analyze the convergence of the algorithm, Lyapunov st ability theory has been used through properly selecting the Lyapunov function. T he result of the verification shows the feasibility of the novel robust iterativ e learning control in theory. Finally, aiming at the two-freedom rate robot, simulation has been made with th e MATLAB software. Furthermore, two groups of parameters are selected to validat e the robustness of the algorithm.
基金sponsored by the National Basic Research Program of China (Grant No. 2012CB955202)the National Public Benefit (Meteorology) Research Foundation of China (Grant No. GYHY201306018)the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 41176013 and 41230420)
文摘Initial errors and model errors are the source of prediction errors. In this study, the authors compute the conditional nonlinear optimal perturbation （CNOP）-type initial errors and nonlinear forcing singular vector （NFSV）- type tendency errors of the Zebiak-Cane model with respect to El Nifio events and analyze their combined effect on the prediction errors for E1 Nino events. The CNOP- type initial error （NFSV-type tendency error） represents the initial errors （model errors） that have the largest effect on prediction uncertainties for E1 Nifio events under the perfect model （perfect initial conditions） scenario. How- ever, when the CNOP-type initial errors and the NFSV- type tendency errors are simultaneously considered in the model, the prediction errors caused by them are not am- plified as the authors expected. Specifically, the predic- tion errors caused by the combined mode of CNOP-type initial errors and NFSV-type tendency errors are a little larger than those caused by the NFSV-type tendency er- rors. This fact emphasizes a need to investigate the opti- mal combined mode of initial errors and tendency errors that cause the largest prediction error for E1 Nifio events.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No.41331174)
文摘In the numerical prediction of weather or climate events,the uncertainty of the initial values and/or prediction models can bring the forecast result’s uncertainty.Due to the absence of true states,studies on this problem mainly focus on the three subproblems of predictability,i.e.,the lower bound of the maximum predictable time,the upper bound of the prediction error,and the lower bound of the maximum allowable initial error.Aimed at the problem of the lower bound estimation of the maximum allowable initial error,this study first illustrates the shortcoming of the existing estimation,and then presents a new estimation based on the initial observation precision and proves it theoretically.Furthermore,the new lower bound estimations of both the two-dimensional ikeda model and lorenz96 model are obtained by using the cnop(conditional nonlinear optimal perturbation)method and a pso(particle swarm optimization)algorithm,and the estimated precisions are also analyzed.Besides,the estimations yielded by the existing and new formulas are compared;the results show that the estimations produced by the existing formula are often incorrect.
基金jointly supported by the National Key Research and Development Program on Monitoring,Early WarningPrevention of Major Natural Disaster(Grant No.2018YFC1506000)the China National Science(Grant Nos.41606019,41975094,and 41706016)。
文摘In this study, the predictability of the El Nino-South Oscillation(ENSO) in an operational prediction model from the perspective of initial errors is diagnosed using the seasonal hindcasts of the Beijing Climate Center System Model,BCC;SM1.1(m). Forecast skills during the different ENSO phases are analyzed and it is shown that the ENSO forecasts appear to be more challenging during the developing phase, compared to the decay phase. During ENSO development, the SST prediction errors are significantly negative and cover a large area in the central and eastern tropical Pacific, thus limiting the model skill in predicting the intensity of El Nino. The large-scale SST errors, at their early stage, are generated gradually in terms of negative anomalies in the subsurface ocean temperature over the central-western equatorial Pacific,featuring an error evolutionary process similar to that of El Nino decay and the transition to the La Nina growth phase.Meanwhile, for short lead-time ENSO predictions, the initial wind errors begin to play an increasing role, particularly in linking with the subsurface heat content errors in the central-western Pacific. By comparing the multiple samples of initial fields in the model, it is clearly found that poor SST predictions of the Nino-3.4 region are largely due to contributions of the initial errors in certain specific locations in the tropical Pacific. This demonstrates that those sensitive areas for initial fields in ENSO prediction are fairly consistent in both previous ideal experiments and our operational predictions,indicating the need for targeted observations to further improve operational forecasts of ENSO.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [grant numbers 41930971,41775069,and 41975076]。
文摘Using the outputs from CMCC-CM in CMIP5 experiments,the authors identified sensitive areas for targeted observations in ENSO forecasting from the perspective of the initial error growth(IEG)method and the particle filter(PF)method.Results showed that the PF targets areas over the central-eastern equatorial Pacific,while the sensitive areas determined by the IEG method are slightly to the east of the former.Although a small part of the areas targeted by the IEG method also lie in the southeast equatorial Pacific,this does not affect the large-scale overlapping of the sensitive areas determined by these two methods in the eastern equatorial Pacific.Therefore,sensitive areas determined by the two methods are mutually supportive.When considering the uncertainty of methods for determining sensitive areas in realistic targeted observation,it is more reasonable to choose the above overlapping areas as sensitive areas for ENSO forecasting.This result provides scientific guidance for how to better determine sensitive areas for ENSO forecasting.
基金Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41130964)China Meteorological Administration Special Public Welfare Research Fund (GYHY201006004)Specialized Research Fund for the Doctoral Program of Higher Education of China (20080284019)
文摘The spatial propagation of meso-and small-scale errors in a Meiyu frontal heavy rainfall event,which occurred in eastern China during 4-6 July 2003,is investigated by using the mesoscale numerical model MM5.In general,the spatial propagation of simulated errors depends on their horizontal scales.Small-scale（L 〈 100 km） initial error may spread rapidly as an isotropic circle through the sound wave.Then,many scattered convection-scale errors are triggered in moist convection zone that will spread abroad through the isotropic,round-shaped sound wave further more.Corresponding to the evolution of the rainfall system,several new convection-scale errors may be generated continuously by moist convection within the propagated round-shaped errors.Through the above circular process,the small-scale error increases in amplitude and grows in scale rapidly.Mesoscale（100 km 〈 L 〈 1000 km） initial error propagates up-and down-stream wavelike through the gravity wave,meanwhile migrating down-stream slowly along with the rainfall system by the mean flow.The up-stream propagation of the mesoscale error is very important to the error growth because it can accumulate error energy locally at a place where there is no moist convection and far upstream from the initial perturbation source.Although moist convection plays an important role in the rapid growth of errors,it has no impact on the propagation of meso-and small-scale errors.The diabatic heating could trigger,strengthen,and promote upscaling of small-scale errors successively,and provide ＂error source＂ to error growth and propagation.The rapid growth of simulated errors results from both intense moist convection and appropriate spatial propagation of the errors.
基金Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 40975031)the National Science Foundation for Young Scientists of China (Grant No. 41005030)
文摘The numerical solution of Boussinesq equations is worked out as an initial-value problem to study the effect of the instabilities of flow on the initial error growth and mesoscale predictability. The development of weather systems depends on different dynamic instability mechanisms according to the spatial scales of the system and the development of mesoscale systems is determined by symmetric instability. Since symmetric instability dominates among the three types of dynamic instability, it makes the prediction of the associated mesoscale systems more sensitive to initial uncertainties. This indicates that the stronger instability leads to faster initial error growth and thus limits the mesoscale predictability. Besides dynamic instability, the impact of thermodynamic instability is also explored. The evolvement of convective instability manifests as dramatic variation in small spatial scale and short temporal scale, and furthermore, it exhibits the upscale growth. Since these features determine the initial error growth, the mesoscale systems arising from convective instability are less predictable and the upscale error growth limits the predictability of larger scales. The latent heating is responsible for changing the stability of flow and subsequently influencing the error growth and the predictability.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 41230420 & 41525017)the National Public Benefit (Meteorology) Research Foundation of China (Grant No. GYHY201306018)
文摘Using predictions for the sea surface temperature anomaly(SSTA) generated by an intermediate coupled model(ICM)ensemble prediction system(EPS), we first explore the "spring predictability barrier"(SPB) problem for the 2015/16 strong El Nio event from the perspective of error growth. By analyzing the growth tendency of the prediction errors for ensemble forecast members, we conclude that the prediction errors for the 2015/16 El Nio event tended to show a distinct season-dependent evolution, with prominent growth in spring and/or the beginning of the summer. This finding indicates that the predictions for the 2015/16 El Nio occurred a significant SPB phenomenon. We show that the SPB occurred in the 2015/16 El Nio predictions did not arise because of the uncertainties in the initial conditions but because of model errors. As such, the mean of ensemble forecast members filtered the effect of model errors and weakened the effect of the SPB, ultimately reducing the prediction errors for the 2015/16 El Nio event. By investigating the model errors represented by the tendency errors for the SSTA component,we demonstrate the prominent features of the tendency errors that often cause an SPB for the 2015/16 El Nio event and explain why the 2015/16 El Nio was under-predicted by the ICM EPS. Moreover, we reveal the typical feature of the tendency errors that cause not only a significant SPB but also an aggressively large prediction error. The feature is that the tendency errors present a zonal dipolar pattern with the west poles of positive anomalies in the equatorial western Pacific and the east poles of negative anomalies in the equatorial eastern Pacific. This tendency error bears great similarities with that of the most sensitive nonlinear forcing singular vector(NFSV)-tendency errors reported by Duan et al. and demonstrates the existence of an NFSV tendency error in realistic predictions. For other strong El Nio events, such as those that occurred in 1982/83 and 1997/98, we obtain the tendency errors of the NFSV structure, which cause a significant SPB and yield a much larger prediction error. These results suggest that the forecast skill of the ICM EPS for strong El Nio events could be greatly enhanced by using the NFSV-like tendency error to correct the model.
基金Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (40975031)
文摘The Advanced Regional Eta-coordinate Model （AREM） is used to explore the predictability of a heavy rainfall event along the Meiyu front in China during 3-4 July 2003. Based on the sensitivity of precipitation prediction to initial data sources and initial uncertainties in different variables, the evolution of error growth and the associated mechanism are described and discussed in detail in this paper. The results indicate that the smaller-amplitude initial error presents a faster growth rate and its growth is characterized by a transition from localized growth to widespread expansion error. Such modality of the error growth is closely related to the evolvement of the precipitation episode, and consequently remarkable forecast divergence is found near the rainband, indicating that the rainfall area is a sensitive region for error growth. The initial error in the rainband contributes significantly to the forecast divergence, and its amplification and propagation are largely determined by the initial moisture distribution. The moisture condition also affects the error growth on smaller scales and the subsequent upscale error cascade. In addition, the error growth defined by an energy norm reveals that large error energy collocates well with the strong latent heating, implying that the occurrence of precipitation and error growth share the same energy source-the latent heat. This may impose an intrinsic predictability limit on the prediction of heavy precipitation.
基金Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(41505012 and 41471305)Open Research Fund of Plateau Atmosphere and Environment Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province(PAEKL-2017-Y1)+2 种基金Scientific Research Fund of Chengdu University of Information Technology(J201613 and KYTZ201607)Innovation Team Fund(16TD0024)Elite Youth Cultivation Project of Sichuan Province(2015JQ0037)
文摘Extended range forecasting of 10-30 days, which lies between medium-term and climate prediction in terms of timescale, plays a significant role in decision-making processes for the prevention and mitigation of disastrous met- eorological events. The sensitivity of initial error, model parameter error, and random error in a nonlinear cross- prediction error （NCPE） model, and their stability in the prediction validity period in 1 0-30-day extended range fore- casting, are analyzed quantitatively. The associated sensitivity of precipitable water, temperature, and geopotential height during cases of heavy rain and hurricane is also discussed. The results are summarized as follows. First, the initial error and random error interact. When the ratio of random error to initial error is small （10＂5-10-2）, minor vari- ation in random error cannot significantly change the dynamic features of a chaotic system, and therefore random er- ror has minimal effect on the prediction. When the ratio is in the range of 10-1-2 （i.e., random error dominates）, at- tention should be paid to the random error instead of only the initial error. When the ratio is around 10 2-10-1, both influences must be considered. Their mutual effects may bring considerable uncertainty to extended range forecast- ing, and de-noising is therefore necessary. Second, in terms of model parameter error, the embedding dimension m should be determined by the factual nonlinear time series. The dynamic features of a chaotic system cannot be depic- ted because of the incomplete structure of the attractor when m is small. When m is large, prediction indicators can vanish because of the scarcity of phase points in phase space. A method for overcoming the cut-off effect （m 〉 4） is proposed. Third, for heavy rains, precipitable water is more sensitive to the prediction validity period than temperat- ure or geopotential height; however, for hurricanes, geopotential height is most sensitive, followed by precipitable water.
