Orthogonal conditional nonlinear optimal perturbations(O-CNOPs)have been used to generate ensemble forecasting members for achieving high forecasting skill of high-impact weather and climate events.However,highly effi...Orthogonal conditional nonlinear optimal perturbations(O-CNOPs)have been used to generate ensemble forecasting members for achieving high forecasting skill of high-impact weather and climate events.However,highly efficient calculations for O-CNOPs are still challenging in the field of ensemble forecasting.In this study,we combine a gradient-based iterative idea with the Gram‒Schmidt orthogonalization,and propose an iterative optimization method to compute O-CNOPs.This method is different from the original sequential optimization method,and allows parallel computations of O-CNOPs,thus saving a large amount of computational time.We evaluate this method by using the Lorenz-96 model on the basis of the ensemble forecasting ability achieved and on the time consumed for computing O-CNOPs.The results demonstrate that the parallel iterative method causes O-CNOPs to yield reliable ensemble members and to achieve ensemble forecasting skills similar to or even slightly higher than those produced by the sequential method.Moreover,the parallel method significantly reduces the computational time for O-CNOPs.Therefore,the parallel iterative method provides a highly effective and efficient approach for calculating O-CNOPs for ensemble forecasts.Expectedly,it can play an important role in the application of the O-CNOPs to realistic ensemble forecasts for high-impact weather and climate events.展开更多
The purpose of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of two different ensemble forecasting (EF) techniques-the lagged-averaged forecast (LAF) and the breeding of growing modes (BGM). In the BGM experime...The purpose of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of two different ensemble forecasting (EF) techniques-the lagged-averaged forecast (LAF) and the breeding of growing modes (BGM). In the BGM experiments, the vortex and the environment are perturbed separately (named BGMV and BGME). Tropical cyclone (TC) motions in two difficult situations are studied: a large vortex interacting with its environment, and an apparent binary interaction. The former is Typhoon Yancy and the latter involves Typhoon Ed and super Typhoon Flo, all occurring during the Tropical Cyclone Motion Experiment TCM- 90. The model used is the baroclinic model of the University of New South Wales. The lateral boundary tendencies are computed from atmospheric analysis data. Only the relative skill of the ensemble forecast mean over the control run is used to evaluate the effectiveness of the EF methods, although the EF technique is also usecl to quantify forecast uncertainty in some studies. In the case of Yancy, the ensemble mean forecasts of each of the three methodologies are better than that of the control, with LAF being the best. The mean track of the LAF is close to the best track, and it predicts landfall over Taiwan. The improvements in LAF and the full BGM where both the environment and vortex are perturbed suggest the importance of combining the perturbation of the vortex and environment when the interaction between the two is appreciable. In the binary interaction case of Ed and Flo, the forecasts of Ed appear to be insensitive to perturbations of the environment and/or the vortex, which apparently results from erroneous forecasts by the model of the interaction between the subtropical ridge and Ed, as well as from the interaction between the two typhoons, thus reducing the effectiveness of the EF technique. This conclusion is reached through sensitivity experiments on the domain of the model and by adding or eliminating certain features in the model atmosphere. Nevertheless, the forecast tracks in some of the cases are improved over that of the control. On the other hand, the EF technique has little impact on the forecasts of Flo because the control forecast is already very close to the best track. The study provides a basis for the. future development of the EF technique. The limitations of this study are also addressed. For example, the above results are based on a small sample, and the study is actually a simulation, which is different than operational forecasting. Further tests of these EF techniques are proposed.展开更多
The quality of ensemble forecasting is seriously affected by sample quality.In this study,the distributions of ensemble members based on the observed track and intensity of tropical cyclones(TCs)were optimized and the...The quality of ensemble forecasting is seriously affected by sample quality.In this study,the distributions of ensemble members based on the observed track and intensity of tropical cyclones(TCs)were optimized and their influence on the simulation results was analyzed.Simulated and observed tracks and intensities of TCs were compared and these two indicators were combined and weighted to score the sample.Samples with higher scores were retained and samples with lower scores were eliminated to improve the overall quality of the ensemble forecast.For each sample,the track score and intensity score were added as the final score of the sample with weight proportions of 10 to 0,9 to 1,8 to 2,7 to 3,6 to 4,5 to 5.These were named as“tr”,“91”,“82”,“73”,“64”,and“55”,respectively.The WRF model was used to simulate five tropical cyclones in the northwestern Pacific to test the ability of this scheme to improve the forecast track and intensity of these cyclones.The results show that the sample optimization effectively reduced the track and intensity error,“55”usually had better performance on the short-term intensity prediction,and“tr”had better performance in short-term track prediction.From the overall performance of the track and intensity simulation,“91”was the best and most stable among all sample optimization schemes.These results may provide some guidance for optimizing operational ensemble forecasting of TCs.展开更多
This paper introduces a new approach for the initialization of ensemble numerical forecasting: Dynamic Analogue Initialization (DAI). DAI assumes that the best model state trajectories for the past provide the init...This paper introduces a new approach for the initialization of ensemble numerical forecasting: Dynamic Analogue Initialization (DAI). DAI assumes that the best model state trajectories for the past provide the initial conditions for the best forecasts in the future. As such, DAI performs the ensemble forecast using the best analogues from a full size ensemble. As a pilot study, the Lorenz63 and Lorenz96 models were used to test DAI's effectiveness independently. Results showed that DAI can improve the forecast significantly. Especially in lower-dimensional systems, DAI can reduce the forecast RMSE by ~50% compared to the Monte Carlo forecast (MC). This improvement is because DAI is able to recognize the direction of the analysis error through the embedding process and therefore selects those good trajectories with reduced initial error. Meanwhile, a potential improvement of DAI is also proposed, and that is to find the optimal range of embedding time based on the error's growing speed.展开更多
Ensemble forecasting of tropical cyclone (TC) motion was studied using a primitive equation barotropic model by perturbing initial position and structure for 1979 1993 TC. The results show that TC initial position per...Ensemble forecasting of tropical cyclone (TC) motion was studied using a primitive equation barotropic model by perturbing initial position and structure for 1979 1993 TC. The results show that TC initial position perturbation affects its track, but the ensemble mean is close to control forecast. Experiments was also performed by perturbing TC initial parameters which were used to generate TC initial field, and more improvement can be obtained by taking ensemble mean of selective member than selecting members randomly. The skill of 60 % 70 % of all cases is improved in selective ensemble mean. When the ambient steering current is weak, more improvement can be obtained over the control forecast.展开更多
A heavy rainstorm occurred in Henan Province,China,between 19 and 21 July,2021,with a record-breaking 201.9 mm of precipitation in 1 h.To explore the key factors that led to forecasting errors for this extreme rainsto...A heavy rainstorm occurred in Henan Province,China,between 19 and 21 July,2021,with a record-breaking 201.9 mm of precipitation in 1 h.To explore the key factors that led to forecasting errors for this extreme rainstorm,as well as the dominant contributor affecting its predictability,we employed the Global/Regional Assimilation and Prediction System-Regional Ensemble Prediction System(GRAPES-REPS)to investigate the impact of the upper tropospheric cold vortex,middle-low vortex,and low-level jet on predictability and forecasting errors.The results showed that heavy rainfall was influenced by the following stable atmospheric circulation systems:subtropical highs,continental highs,and Typhoon In-Fa.Severe convection was caused by abundant water vapor,orographic uplift,and mesoscale vortices.Multiscale weather systems contributed to maintaining extreme rainfall in Henan for a long duration.The prediction ability of the optimal member of GRAPES-REPS was attributed to effective prediction of the intensity and evolution characteristics of the upper tropospheric cold vortex,middle-low vortex,and low-level jet.Conversely,the prediction deviation of unstable and dynamic conditions in the lower level of the worst member led to a decline in the forecast quality of rainfall intensity and its rainfall area.This indicates that heavy rainfall was strongly related to the short-wave throughput,upper tropospheric cold vortex,vortex,and boundary layer jet.Moreover,we observed severe uncertainty in GRAPES-REPS forecasts for rainfall caused by strong convection,whereas the predictability of rainfall caused by topography was high.Compared with the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts Ensemble Prediction System,GRAPES-REPS exhibits a better forecast ability for heavy rainfall,with some ensemble members able to better predict extreme precipitation.展开更多
This study focuses on an extreme rainfall event in East China during the mei-yu season,in which the capital city(Nanjing)of Jiangsu Province experienced a maximum 14-h rainfall accumulation of 209.6 mm and a peak hour...This study focuses on an extreme rainfall event in East China during the mei-yu season,in which the capital city(Nanjing)of Jiangsu Province experienced a maximum 14-h rainfall accumulation of 209.6 mm and a peak hourly rainfall of 118.8 mm.The performance of two sets of convection-permitting ensemble forecast systems(CEFSs),each with 30 members and a 3-km horizontal grid spacing,is evaluated.The CEFS_ICBCs,using multiple initial and boundary conditions(ICs and BCs),and the CEFS_ICBCs Phys,which incorporates both multi-physics schemes and ICs/BCs,are compared to the CMA-REPS(China Meteorological Administration-Regional Ensemble Prediction System)with a coarser 10-km grid spacing.The two CEFSs demonstrate more uniform rank histograms and lower Brier scores(with higher resolution),improving precipitation intensity predictions and providing more reliable probability forecasts,although they overestimate precipitation over Mt.Dabie.It is challenging for the CEFSs to capture the evolution of mesoscale rainstorms that are known to be related to the errors in predicting the southwesterly low-level winds.Sensitivity experiments reveal that the microphysics and radiation schemes introduce considerable uncertainty in predicting the intensity and location of heavy rainfall in and near Nanjing and Mt.Dabie.In particular,the Asymmetric Convection Model 2(ACM2)planetary boundary layer scheme combined with the Pleim-Xiu surface layer scheme tends to produce a biased northeastward extension of the boundary-layer jet,contributing to the northeastward bias of heavy precipitation around Nanjing in the CEFS_ICBCs.展开更多
The impacts of lateral boundary conditions(LBCs)provided by numerical models and data-driven networks on convective-scale ensemble forecasts are investigated in this study.Four experiments are conducted on the Hangzho...The impacts of lateral boundary conditions(LBCs)provided by numerical models and data-driven networks on convective-scale ensemble forecasts are investigated in this study.Four experiments are conducted on the Hangzhou RDP(19th Hangzhou Asian Games Research Development Project on Convective-scale Ensemble Prediction and Application)testbed,with the LBCs respectively sourced from National Centers for Environmental Prediction(NCEP)Global Forecast System(GFS)forecasts with 33 vertical levels(Exp_GFS),Pangu forecasts with 13 vertical levels(Exp_Pangu),Fuxi forecasts with 13 vertical levels(Exp_Fuxi),and NCEP GFS forecasts with the vertical levels reduced to 13(the same as those of Exp_Pangu and Exp_Fuxi)(Exp_GFSRDV).In general,Exp_Pangu performs comparably to Exp_GFS,while Exp_Fuxi shows slightly inferior performance compared to Exp_Pangu,possibly due to its less accurate large-scale predictions.Therefore,the ability of using data-driven networks to efficiently provide LBCs for convective-scale ensemble forecasts has been demonstrated.Moreover,Exp_GFSRDV has the worst convective-scale forecasts among the four experiments,which indicates the potential improvement of using data-driven networks for LBCs by increasing the vertical levels of the networks.However,the ensemble spread of the four experiments barely increases with lead time.Thus,each experiment has insufficient ensemble spread to present realistic forecast uncertainties,which will be investigated in a future study.展开更多
We propose a method based on the local breeding of growing modes(LBGM) considering strong local weather characteristics for convection-allowing ensemble forecasting. The impact radius was introduced in the breeding of...We propose a method based on the local breeding of growing modes(LBGM) considering strong local weather characteristics for convection-allowing ensemble forecasting. The impact radius was introduced in the breeding of growing modes to develop the LBGM method. In the local breeding process, the ratio between the root mean square error(RMSE) of local space forecast at each grid point and that of the initial full-field forecast is computed to rescale perturbations. Preliminary evaluations of the method based on a nature run were performed in terms of three aspects: perturbation structure, spread,and the RMSE of the forecast. The experimental results confirm that the local adaptability of perturbation schemes improves after rescaling by the LBGM method. For perturbation physical variables and some near-surface meteorological elements, the LBGM method could increase the spread and reduce the RMSE of forecast,improving the performance of the ensemble forecast system.In addition, different from those existing methods of global orthogonalization approach, this new initial-condition perturbation method takes into full consideration the local characteristics of the convective-scale weather system, thus making convectionallowing ensemble forecast more accurate.展开更多
This study evaluates ensemble forecasts with a stochastic kinetic energy backscatter scheme(SKEBS)to predict tropical cyclone(TC)genesis and also to characterize the related ensemble underdispersion.Several sets of en...This study evaluates ensemble forecasts with a stochastic kinetic energy backscatter scheme(SKEBS)to predict tropical cyclone(TC)genesis and also to characterize the related ensemble underdispersion.Several sets of ensemble forecasts are generated using an advanced research version of the Weather Research and Forecasting model at 5 km horizontal resolution to predict the genesis of Hurricane Ernesto(2006)and Typhoon Nuri(2008).Ensemble forecasts with SKEBS are compared against a control ensemble forecast with the WRF model using downscaled initial conditions derived from the NCEP Global Ensemble Forecasting System.It is found that ensemble forecasts with SKEBS are able to generate probabilistic forecasts for TC genesis and also capable of indicating the forecast uncertainties.Compared with the deterministic forecast that fails to predict the genesis of Typhoon Nuri,the ensemble forecast with SKEBS is able to produce the genesis forecast.However,the underdispersion of ensemble forecasts with SKEBS is also present in all cases in terms of the simulation period and over the whole model domain,TC environment,and inner core regions,although it is reduced near the TC inner core region.In addition,the initial perturbation–based ensemble forecasts shows slightly less underdispersion compared with the SKEBS ensembles.展开更多
Despite the maturity of ensemble numerical weather prediction(NWP),the resulting forecasts are still,more often than not,under-dispersed.As such,forecast calibration tools have become popular.Among those tools,quantil...Despite the maturity of ensemble numerical weather prediction(NWP),the resulting forecasts are still,more often than not,under-dispersed.As such,forecast calibration tools have become popular.Among those tools,quantile regression(QR)is highly competitive in terms of both flexibility and predictive performance.Nevertheless,a long-standing problem of QR is quantile crossing,which greatly limits the interpretability of QR-calibrated forecasts.On this point,this study proposes a non-crossing quantile regression neural network(NCQRNN),for calibrating ensemble NWP forecasts into a set of reliable quantile forecasts without crossing.The overarching design principle of NCQRNN is to add on top of the conventional QRNN structure another hidden layer,which imposes a non-decreasing mapping between the combined output from nodes of the last hidden layer to the nodes of the output layer,through a triangular weight matrix with positive entries.The empirical part of the work considers a solar irradiance case study,in which four years of ensemble irradiance forecasts at seven locations,issued by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts,are calibrated via NCQRNN,as well as via an eclectic mix of benchmarking models,ranging from the naïve climatology to the state-of-the-art deep-learning and other non-crossing models.Formal and stringent forecast verification suggests that the forecasts post-processed via NCQRNN attain the maximum sharpness subject to calibration,amongst all competitors.Furthermore,the proposed conception to resolve quantile crossing is remarkably simple yet general,and thus has broad applicability as it can be integrated with many shallow-and deep-learning-based neural networks.展开更多
Since the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics was the first Winter Olympics in history held in continental winter monsoon climate conditions across complex terrain areas,there is a deficiency of relevant research,operational...Since the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics was the first Winter Olympics in history held in continental winter monsoon climate conditions across complex terrain areas,there is a deficiency of relevant research,operational techniques,and experience.This made providing meteorological services for this event particularly challenging.The China Meteorological Administration(CMA)Earth System Modeling and Prediction Centre,achieved breakthroughs in research on short-and medium-term deterministic and ensemble numerical predictions.Several key technologies crucial for precise winter weather services during the Winter Olympics were developed.A comprehensive framework,known as the Operational System for High-Precision Weather Forecasting for the Winter Olympics,was established.Some of these advancements represent the highest level of capabilities currently available in China.The meteorological service provided to the Beijing 2022 Games also exceeded previous Winter Olympic Games in both variety and quality.This included achievements such as the“100-meter level,minute level”downscaled spatiotemporal resolution and forecasts spanning 1 to 15 days.Around 30 new technologies and over 60 kinds of products that align with the requirements of the Winter Olympics Organizing Committee were developed,and many of these techniques have since been integrated into the CMA’s operational national forecasting systems.These accomplishments were facilitated by a dedicated weather forecasting and research initiative,in conjunction with the preexisting real-time operational forecasting systems of the CMA.This program represents one of the five subprograms of the WMO’s high-impact weather forecasting demonstration project(SMART2022),and continues to play an important role in their Regional Association(RA)II Research Development Project(Hangzhou RDP).Therefore,the research accomplishments and meteorological service experiences from this program will be carried forward into forthcoming highimpact weather forecasting activities.This article provides an overview and assessment of this program and the operational national forecasting systems.展开更多
This study investigated the growth of forecast errors stemming from initial conditions(ICs),lateral boundary conditions(LBCs),and model(MO)perturbations,as well as their interactions,by conducting seven 36 h convectio...This study investigated the growth of forecast errors stemming from initial conditions(ICs),lateral boundary conditions(LBCs),and model(MO)perturbations,as well as their interactions,by conducting seven 36 h convectionallowing ensemble forecast(CAEF)experiments.Two cases,one with strong-forcing(SF)and the other with weak-forcing(WF),occurred over the Yangtze-Huai River basin(YHRB)in East China,were selected to examine the sources of uncertainties associated with perturbation growth under varying forcing backgrounds and the influence of these backgrounds on growth.The perturbations exhibited distinct characteristics in terms of temporal evolution,spatial propagation,and vertical distribution under different forcing backgrounds,indicating a dependence between perturbation growth and forcing background.A comparison of the perturbation growth in different precipitation areas revealed that IC and LBC perturbations were significantly influenced by the location of precipitation in the SF case,while MO perturbations were more responsive to convection triggering and dominated in the WF case.The vertical distribution of perturbations showed that the sources of uncertainties and the performance of perturbations varied between SF and WF cases,with LBC perturbations displaying notable case dependence.Furthermore,the interactions between perturbations were considered by exploring the added values of different source perturbations.For the SF case,the added values of IC,LBC,and MO perturbations were reflected in different forecast periods and different source uncertainties,suggesting that the combination of multi-source perturbations can yield positive interactions.In the WF case,MO perturbations provided a more accurate estimation of uncertainties downstream of the Dabie Mountain and need to be prioritized in the research on perturbation development.展开更多
The breeding method has been widely used to generate ensemble perturbations in ensemble forecasting due to its simple concept and low computational cost. This method produces the fastest growing perturbation modes to ...The breeding method has been widely used to generate ensemble perturbations in ensemble forecasting due to its simple concept and low computational cost. This method produces the fastest growing perturbation modes to catch the growing components in analysis errors. However, the bred vectors (BVs) are evolved on the same dynamical flow, which may increase the dependence of perturbations. In contrast, the nonlinear local Lyapunov vector (NLLV) scheme generates flow-dependent perturbations as in the breeding method, but regularly conducts the Gram-Schmidt reorthonormalization processes on the perturbations. The resulting NLLVs span the fast-growing perturbation subspace efficiently, and thus may grasp more com- ponents in analysis errors than the BVs. In this paper, the NLLVs are employed to generate initial ensemble perturbations in a barotropic quasi-geostrophic model. The performances of the ensemble forecasts of the NLLV method are systematically compared to those of the random pertur- bation (RP) technique, and the BV method, as well as its improved version--the ensemble transform Kalman filter (ETKF) method. The results demonstrate that the RP technique has the worst performance in ensemble forecasts, which indicates the importance of a flow-dependent initialization scheme. The ensemble perturbation subspaces of the NLLV and ETKF methods are preliminarily shown to catch similar components of analysis errors, which exceed that of the BVs. However, the NLLV scheme demonstrates slightly higher ensemble forecast skill than the ETKF scheme. In addition, the NLLV scheme involves a significantly simpler algorithm and less computation time than the ETKF method, and both demonstrate better ensemble forecast skill than the BV scheme.展开更多
The North China Plain often su ers heavy haze pollution events in the cold season due to the rapid industrial development and urbanization in recent decades.In the winter of 2015,the megacity cluster of Beijing Tianji...The North China Plain often su ers heavy haze pollution events in the cold season due to the rapid industrial development and urbanization in recent decades.In the winter of 2015,the megacity cluster of Beijing Tianjin Hebei experienced a seven-day extreme haze pollution episode with peak PM2.5(particulate matter(PM)with an aerodynamic diameter≤2.5μm)concentration of 727μg m 3.Considering the in uence of meteorological conditions on pollu-tant evolution,the e ects of varying initial conditions and lateral boundary conditions(LBCs)of the WRF-Chem model on PM2.5 concentration variation were investigated through ensemble methods.A control run(CTRL)and three groups of ensemble experiments(INDE,BDDE,INBDDE)were carried out based on difierent initial conditions and LBCs derived from ERA5 reanalysis data and its 10 ensemble members.The CTRL run reproduced the meteorological conditions and the overall life cycle of the haze event reasonably well,but failed to capture the intense oscillation of the instantaneous PM2.5 concentration.However,the ensemble forecasting showed a considerable advantage to some extent.Compared with the CTRL run,the root-mean-square error(RMSE)of PM2.5 concentration decreased by 4.33%,6.91%,and 8.44%in INDE,BDDE and INBDDE,respectively,and the RMSE decreases of wind direction(5.19%,8.89%and 9.61%)were the dominant reason for the improvement of PM2.5 concentration in the three ensemble experiments.Based on this case,the ensemble scheme seems an e ective method to improve the prediction skill of wind direction and PM2.5 concentration by using the WRF-Chem model.展开更多
In this article,our nonlinear theory and technology for reducing the uncertainties of high-impact ocean‒atmosphere event predictions,with the conditional nonlinear optimal perturbation(CNOP)method as its core,are revi...In this article,our nonlinear theory and technology for reducing the uncertainties of high-impact ocean‒atmosphere event predictions,with the conditional nonlinear optimal perturbation(CNOP)method as its core,are reviewed,and the“spring predictability barrier”problem for El Nino‒Southern Oscillation events and targeted observation issues for tropical cyclone forecasts are taken as two representative examples.Nonlinear theory reveals that initial errors of particular spatial structures,environmental conditions,and nonlinear processes contribute to significant prediction errors,whereas nonlinear technology provides a pioneering approach for reducing observational and forecast errors via targeted observations through the application of the CNOP method.Follow-up research further validates the scientific rigor of the theory in revealing the nonlinear mechanism of significant prediction errors,and relevant practical field campaigns for targeted observations verify the effectiveness of the technology in reducing prediction uncertainties.The CNOP method has achieved international recognition;furthermore,its applications further extend to ensemble forecasts for weather and climate and further enrich the nonlinear technology for reducing prediction uncertainties.It is expected that this nonlinear theory and technology will play a considerably important role in reducing prediction uncertainties for high-impact weather and climate events.展开更多
It has been demonstrated that ensemble mean forecasts, in the context of the sample mean, have higher forecasting skill than deterministic(or single) forecasts. However, few studies have focused on quantifying the rel...It has been demonstrated that ensemble mean forecasts, in the context of the sample mean, have higher forecasting skill than deterministic(or single) forecasts. However, few studies have focused on quantifying the relationship between their forecast errors, especially in individual prediction cases. Clarification of the characteristics of deterministic and ensemble mean forecasts from the perspective of attractors of dynamical systems has also rarely been involved. In this paper, two attractor statistics—namely, the global and local attractor radii(GAR and LAR, respectively)—are applied to reveal the relationship between deterministic and ensemble mean forecast errors. The practical forecast experiments are implemented in a perfect model scenario with the Lorenz96 model as the numerical results for verification. The sample mean errors of deterministic and ensemble mean forecasts can be expressed by GAR and LAR, respectively, and their ratio is found to approach2^(1/2) with lead time. Meanwhile, the LAR can provide the expected ratio of the ensemble mean and deterministic forecast errors in individual cases.展开更多
Ensemble techniques have been used to generate daily numerical weather forecasts since the 1990s in numerical centers around the world due to the increase in computation ability. One of the main purposes of numerical ...Ensemble techniques have been used to generate daily numerical weather forecasts since the 1990s in numerical centers around the world due to the increase in computation ability. One of the main purposes of numerical ensemble forecasts is to try to assimilate the initial uncertainty (initial error) and the forecast uncertainty (forecast error) by applying either the initial perturbation method or the multi-model/multiphysics method. In fact, the mean of an ensemble forecast offers a better forecast than a deterministic (or control) forecast after a short lead time (3-5 days) for global modelling applications. There is about a 1-2-day improvement in the forecast skill when using an ensemble mean instead of a single forecast for longer lead-time. The skillful forecast (65% and above of an anomaly correlation) could be extended to 8 days (or longer) by present-day ensemble forecast systems. Furthermore, ensemble forecasts can deliver a probabilistic forecast to the users, which is based on the probability density function (PDF) instead of a single-value forecast from a traditional deterministic system. It has long been recognized that the ensemble forecast not only improves our weather forecast predictability but also offers a remarkable forecast for the future uncertainty, such as the relative measure of predictability (RMOP) and probabilistic quantitative precipitation forecast (PQPF). Not surprisingly, the success of the ensemble forecast and its wide application greatly increase the confidence of model developers and research communities.展开更多
In this study, the Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences - regional ensemble forecast system (IAP-REFS) described in Part I was further validated through a 65-day experiment using the summer ...In this study, the Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences - regional ensemble forecast system (IAP-REFS) described in Part I was further validated through a 65-day experiment using the summer season of 2010. The verification results show that IAP-REFS is skillful for quantitative precipitation forecasts (QPF) and probabilistic QPF, but it has a systematic bias in forecasting near-surface variables. Applying a 7-day running mean bias correction to the forecasts of near-surface variables remarkably improved the reliability of the forecasts. In this study, the perturbation extraction and inflation method (proposed with the single case study in Part I) was further applied to the full season with different inflation factors. This method increased the ensemble spread and improved the accuracy of forecasts of precipitation and near-surface variables. The seasonal mean profiles of the IAP-REFS ensemble indicate good spread among ensemble members and some model biases at certain vertical levels.展开更多
A single-model, short-range, ensemble forecasting system (Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Regional Ensemble Forecast System, IAP REFS) with 15-km grid spacing, configured with multiple initial conditions, multiple...A single-model, short-range, ensemble forecasting system (Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Regional Ensemble Forecast System, IAP REFS) with 15-km grid spacing, configured with multiple initial conditions, multiple lateral boundary conditions, and multiple physics parameterizations with 11 ensemble members, was developed using the Weather and Research Forecasting Model Advanced Research modeling system for prediction of stratiform precipitation events in northern China. This is the first part of a broader research project to develop a novel cloud-seeding operational system in a probabilistic framework. The ensemble perturbations were extracted from selected members of the National Center for Environmental Prediction Global Ensemble Forecasting System (NCEP GEFS) forecasts, and an inflation factor of two was applied to compensate for the lack of spread in the GEFS forecasts over the research region. Experiments on an actual stratiform precipitation case that occurred on 5-7 June 2009 in northern China were conducted to validate the ensemble system. The IAP REFS system had reasonably good performance in predicting the observed stratiform precipitation system. The perturbation inflation enlarged the ensemble spread and alleviated the underdispersion caused by parent forecasts. Centering the extracted perturbations on higher-resolution NCEP Global Forecast System forecasts resulted in less ensemble mean root-mean-square error and better accuracy in probabilistic quantitative precipitation forecasts (PQPF). However, the perturbation inflation and recentering had less effect on near-surface-level variables compared to the mid-level variables, and its influence on PQPF resolution was limited as well.展开更多
基金sponsored by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant Nos.41930971,42330111,and 42405061)the National Key Scientific and Technological Infrastructure project“Earth System Numerical Simulation Facility”(Earth Lab).
文摘Orthogonal conditional nonlinear optimal perturbations(O-CNOPs)have been used to generate ensemble forecasting members for achieving high forecasting skill of high-impact weather and climate events.However,highly efficient calculations for O-CNOPs are still challenging in the field of ensemble forecasting.In this study,we combine a gradient-based iterative idea with the Gram‒Schmidt orthogonalization,and propose an iterative optimization method to compute O-CNOPs.This method is different from the original sequential optimization method,and allows parallel computations of O-CNOPs,thus saving a large amount of computational time.We evaluate this method by using the Lorenz-96 model on the basis of the ensemble forecasting ability achieved and on the time consumed for computing O-CNOPs.The results demonstrate that the parallel iterative method causes O-CNOPs to yield reliable ensemble members and to achieve ensemble forecasting skills similar to or even slightly higher than those produced by the sequential method.Moreover,the parallel method significantly reduces the computational time for O-CNOPs.Therefore,the parallel iterative method provides a highly effective and efficient approach for calculating O-CNOPs for ensemble forecasts.Expectedly,it can play an important role in the application of the O-CNOPs to realistic ensemble forecasts for high-impact weather and climate events.
文摘The purpose of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of two different ensemble forecasting (EF) techniques-the lagged-averaged forecast (LAF) and the breeding of growing modes (BGM). In the BGM experiments, the vortex and the environment are perturbed separately (named BGMV and BGME). Tropical cyclone (TC) motions in two difficult situations are studied: a large vortex interacting with its environment, and an apparent binary interaction. The former is Typhoon Yancy and the latter involves Typhoon Ed and super Typhoon Flo, all occurring during the Tropical Cyclone Motion Experiment TCM- 90. The model used is the baroclinic model of the University of New South Wales. The lateral boundary tendencies are computed from atmospheric analysis data. Only the relative skill of the ensemble forecast mean over the control run is used to evaluate the effectiveness of the EF methods, although the EF technique is also usecl to quantify forecast uncertainty in some studies. In the case of Yancy, the ensemble mean forecasts of each of the three methodologies are better than that of the control, with LAF being the best. The mean track of the LAF is close to the best track, and it predicts landfall over Taiwan. The improvements in LAF and the full BGM where both the environment and vortex are perturbed suggest the importance of combining the perturbation of the vortex and environment when the interaction between the two is appreciable. In the binary interaction case of Ed and Flo, the forecasts of Ed appear to be insensitive to perturbations of the environment and/or the vortex, which apparently results from erroneous forecasts by the model of the interaction between the subtropical ridge and Ed, as well as from the interaction between the two typhoons, thus reducing the effectiveness of the EF technique. This conclusion is reached through sensitivity experiments on the domain of the model and by adding or eliminating certain features in the model atmosphere. Nevertheless, the forecast tracks in some of the cases are improved over that of the control. On the other hand, the EF technique has little impact on the forecasts of Flo because the control forecast is already very close to the best track. The study provides a basis for the. future development of the EF technique. The limitations of this study are also addressed. For example, the above results are based on a small sample, and the study is actually a simulation, which is different than operational forecasting. Further tests of these EF techniques are proposed.
基金This work was supported by the National Key R&D Program of China(Grant No.2018YFC1507602,2017YFC1501603)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No.41975136)+1 种基金the Guangdong Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation(Grant No.2019A1515011118)Sci-entific research project of Shanghai Science and Technology Com-mission(19dz1200101).
文摘The quality of ensemble forecasting is seriously affected by sample quality.In this study,the distributions of ensemble members based on the observed track and intensity of tropical cyclones(TCs)were optimized and their influence on the simulation results was analyzed.Simulated and observed tracks and intensities of TCs were compared and these two indicators were combined and weighted to score the sample.Samples with higher scores were retained and samples with lower scores were eliminated to improve the overall quality of the ensemble forecast.For each sample,the track score and intensity score were added as the final score of the sample with weight proportions of 10 to 0,9 to 1,8 to 2,7 to 3,6 to 4,5 to 5.These were named as“tr”,“91”,“82”,“73”,“64”,and“55”,respectively.The WRF model was used to simulate five tropical cyclones in the northwestern Pacific to test the ability of this scheme to improve the forecast track and intensity of these cyclones.The results show that the sample optimization effectively reduced the track and intensity error,“55”usually had better performance on the short-term intensity prediction,and“tr”had better performance in short-term track prediction.From the overall performance of the track and intensity simulation,“91”was the best and most stable among all sample optimization schemes.These results may provide some guidance for optimizing operational ensemble forecasting of TCs.
文摘This paper introduces a new approach for the initialization of ensemble numerical forecasting: Dynamic Analogue Initialization (DAI). DAI assumes that the best model state trajectories for the past provide the initial conditions for the best forecasts in the future. As such, DAI performs the ensemble forecast using the best analogues from a full size ensemble. As a pilot study, the Lorenz63 and Lorenz96 models were used to test DAI's effectiveness independently. Results showed that DAI can improve the forecast significantly. Especially in lower-dimensional systems, DAI can reduce the forecast RMSE by ~50% compared to the Monte Carlo forecast (MC). This improvement is because DAI is able to recognize the direction of the analysis error through the embedding process and therefore selects those good trajectories with reduced initial error. Meanwhile, a potential improvement of DAI is also proposed, and that is to find the optimal range of embedding time based on the error's growing speed.
文摘Ensemble forecasting of tropical cyclone (TC) motion was studied using a primitive equation barotropic model by perturbing initial position and structure for 1979 1993 TC. The results show that TC initial position perturbation affects its track, but the ensemble mean is close to control forecast. Experiments was also performed by perturbing TC initial parameters which were used to generate TC initial field, and more improvement can be obtained by taking ensemble mean of selective member than selecting members randomly. The skill of 60 % 70 % of all cases is improved in selective ensemble mean. When the ambient steering current is weak, more improvement can be obtained over the control forecast.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No.U2242213)the National Key R&D Program of China(No.2017YFC1502000).
文摘A heavy rainstorm occurred in Henan Province,China,between 19 and 21 July,2021,with a record-breaking 201.9 mm of precipitation in 1 h.To explore the key factors that led to forecasting errors for this extreme rainstorm,as well as the dominant contributor affecting its predictability,we employed the Global/Regional Assimilation and Prediction System-Regional Ensemble Prediction System(GRAPES-REPS)to investigate the impact of the upper tropospheric cold vortex,middle-low vortex,and low-level jet on predictability and forecasting errors.The results showed that heavy rainfall was influenced by the following stable atmospheric circulation systems:subtropical highs,continental highs,and Typhoon In-Fa.Severe convection was caused by abundant water vapor,orographic uplift,and mesoscale vortices.Multiscale weather systems contributed to maintaining extreme rainfall in Henan for a long duration.The prediction ability of the optimal member of GRAPES-REPS was attributed to effective prediction of the intensity and evolution characteristics of the upper tropospheric cold vortex,middle-low vortex,and low-level jet.Conversely,the prediction deviation of unstable and dynamic conditions in the lower level of the worst member led to a decline in the forecast quality of rainfall intensity and its rainfall area.This indicates that heavy rainfall was strongly related to the short-wave throughput,upper tropospheric cold vortex,vortex,and boundary layer jet.Moreover,we observed severe uncertainty in GRAPES-REPS forecasts for rainfall caused by strong convection,whereas the predictability of rainfall caused by topography was high.Compared with the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts Ensemble Prediction System,GRAPES-REPS exhibits a better forecast ability for heavy rainfall,with some ensemble members able to better predict extreme precipitation.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant Nos.42030610 and 42205006)the Startup Foundation for Introducing Talent of NUIST(2023r121)。
文摘This study focuses on an extreme rainfall event in East China during the mei-yu season,in which the capital city(Nanjing)of Jiangsu Province experienced a maximum 14-h rainfall accumulation of 209.6 mm and a peak hourly rainfall of 118.8 mm.The performance of two sets of convection-permitting ensemble forecast systems(CEFSs),each with 30 members and a 3-km horizontal grid spacing,is evaluated.The CEFS_ICBCs,using multiple initial and boundary conditions(ICs and BCs),and the CEFS_ICBCs Phys,which incorporates both multi-physics schemes and ICs/BCs,are compared to the CMA-REPS(China Meteorological Administration-Regional Ensemble Prediction System)with a coarser 10-km grid spacing.The two CEFSs demonstrate more uniform rank histograms and lower Brier scores(with higher resolution),improving precipitation intensity predictions and providing more reliable probability forecasts,although they overestimate precipitation over Mt.Dabie.It is challenging for the CEFSs to capture the evolution of mesoscale rainstorms that are known to be related to the errors in predicting the southwesterly low-level winds.Sensitivity experiments reveal that the microphysics and radiation schemes introduce considerable uncertainty in predicting the intensity and location of heavy rainfall in and near Nanjing and Mt.Dabie.In particular,the Asymmetric Convection Model 2(ACM2)planetary boundary layer scheme combined with the Pleim-Xiu surface layer scheme tends to produce a biased northeastward extension of the boundary-layer jet,contributing to the northeastward bias of heavy precipitation around Nanjing in the CEFS_ICBCs.
基金supported by the Strategic Research and Consulting Project of the Chinese Academy of Engineering[grant number 2024-XBZD-14]the National Natural Science Foundation of China[grant numbers 42192553 and 41922036]the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities–Cemac“GeoX”Interdisciplinary Program[grant number 020714380207]。
文摘The impacts of lateral boundary conditions(LBCs)provided by numerical models and data-driven networks on convective-scale ensemble forecasts are investigated in this study.Four experiments are conducted on the Hangzhou RDP(19th Hangzhou Asian Games Research Development Project on Convective-scale Ensemble Prediction and Application)testbed,with the LBCs respectively sourced from National Centers for Environmental Prediction(NCEP)Global Forecast System(GFS)forecasts with 33 vertical levels(Exp_GFS),Pangu forecasts with 13 vertical levels(Exp_Pangu),Fuxi forecasts with 13 vertical levels(Exp_Fuxi),and NCEP GFS forecasts with the vertical levels reduced to 13(the same as those of Exp_Pangu and Exp_Fuxi)(Exp_GFSRDV).In general,Exp_Pangu performs comparably to Exp_GFS,while Exp_Fuxi shows slightly inferior performance compared to Exp_Pangu,possibly due to its less accurate large-scale predictions.Therefore,the ability of using data-driven networks to efficiently provide LBCs for convective-scale ensemble forecasts has been demonstrated.Moreover,Exp_GFSRDV has the worst convective-scale forecasts among the four experiments,which indicates the potential improvement of using data-driven networks for LBCs by increasing the vertical levels of the networks.However,the ensemble spread of the four experiments barely increases with lead time.Thus,each experiment has insufficient ensemble spread to present realistic forecast uncertainties,which will be investigated in a future study.
基金supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Nanjing Joint Center of Atmospheric Research(Grant Nos.NJCAR2016MS02 and NJCAR2016ZD04)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant Nos.41205073 and41675007)the National Key Research and Development Program of China(Grant No.2017YFC1501800)
文摘We propose a method based on the local breeding of growing modes(LBGM) considering strong local weather characteristics for convection-allowing ensemble forecasting. The impact radius was introduced in the breeding of growing modes to develop the LBGM method. In the local breeding process, the ratio between the root mean square error(RMSE) of local space forecast at each grid point and that of the initial full-field forecast is computed to rescale perturbations. Preliminary evaluations of the method based on a nature run were performed in terms of three aspects: perturbation structure, spread,and the RMSE of the forecast. The experimental results confirm that the local adaptability of perturbation schemes improves after rescaling by the LBGM method. For perturbation physical variables and some near-surface meteorological elements, the LBGM method could increase the spread and reduce the RMSE of forecast,improving the performance of the ensemble forecast system.In addition, different from those existing methods of global orthogonalization approach, this new initial-condition perturbation method takes into full consideration the local characteristics of the convective-scale weather system, thus making convectionallowing ensemble forecast more accurate.
基金supported by a research grant from the Office of Naval Research(ONR)through award numbers N000141310582.
文摘This study evaluates ensemble forecasts with a stochastic kinetic energy backscatter scheme(SKEBS)to predict tropical cyclone(TC)genesis and also to characterize the related ensemble underdispersion.Several sets of ensemble forecasts are generated using an advanced research version of the Weather Research and Forecasting model at 5 km horizontal resolution to predict the genesis of Hurricane Ernesto(2006)and Typhoon Nuri(2008).Ensemble forecasts with SKEBS are compared against a control ensemble forecast with the WRF model using downscaled initial conditions derived from the NCEP Global Ensemble Forecasting System.It is found that ensemble forecasts with SKEBS are able to generate probabilistic forecasts for TC genesis and also capable of indicating the forecast uncertainties.Compared with the deterministic forecast that fails to predict the genesis of Typhoon Nuri,the ensemble forecast with SKEBS is able to produce the genesis forecast.However,the underdispersion of ensemble forecasts with SKEBS is also present in all cases in terms of the simulation period and over the whole model domain,TC environment,and inner core regions,although it is reduced near the TC inner core region.In addition,the initial perturbation–based ensemble forecasts shows slightly less underdispersion compared with the SKEBS ensembles.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Project No.42375192)the China Meteorological Administration Climate Change Special Program (CMA-CCSP+1 种基金Project No.QBZ202315)support by the Vector Stiftung through the Young Investigator Group"Artificial Intelligence for Probabilistic Weather Forecasting."
文摘Despite the maturity of ensemble numerical weather prediction(NWP),the resulting forecasts are still,more often than not,under-dispersed.As such,forecast calibration tools have become popular.Among those tools,quantile regression(QR)is highly competitive in terms of both flexibility and predictive performance.Nevertheless,a long-standing problem of QR is quantile crossing,which greatly limits the interpretability of QR-calibrated forecasts.On this point,this study proposes a non-crossing quantile regression neural network(NCQRNN),for calibrating ensemble NWP forecasts into a set of reliable quantile forecasts without crossing.The overarching design principle of NCQRNN is to add on top of the conventional QRNN structure another hidden layer,which imposes a non-decreasing mapping between the combined output from nodes of the last hidden layer to the nodes of the output layer,through a triangular weight matrix with positive entries.The empirical part of the work considers a solar irradiance case study,in which four years of ensemble irradiance forecasts at seven locations,issued by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts,are calibrated via NCQRNN,as well as via an eclectic mix of benchmarking models,ranging from the naïve climatology to the state-of-the-art deep-learning and other non-crossing models.Formal and stringent forecast verification suggests that the forecasts post-processed via NCQRNN attain the maximum sharpness subject to calibration,amongst all competitors.Furthermore,the proposed conception to resolve quantile crossing is remarkably simple yet general,and thus has broad applicability as it can be integrated with many shallow-and deep-learning-based neural networks.
基金This work was jointly supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant Nos.41975137,42175012,and 41475097)the National Key Research and Development Program(Grant No.2018YFF0300103).
文摘Since the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics was the first Winter Olympics in history held in continental winter monsoon climate conditions across complex terrain areas,there is a deficiency of relevant research,operational techniques,and experience.This made providing meteorological services for this event particularly challenging.The China Meteorological Administration(CMA)Earth System Modeling and Prediction Centre,achieved breakthroughs in research on short-and medium-term deterministic and ensemble numerical predictions.Several key technologies crucial for precise winter weather services during the Winter Olympics were developed.A comprehensive framework,known as the Operational System for High-Precision Weather Forecasting for the Winter Olympics,was established.Some of these advancements represent the highest level of capabilities currently available in China.The meteorological service provided to the Beijing 2022 Games also exceeded previous Winter Olympic Games in both variety and quality.This included achievements such as the“100-meter level,minute level”downscaled spatiotemporal resolution and forecasts spanning 1 to 15 days.Around 30 new technologies and over 60 kinds of products that align with the requirements of the Winter Olympics Organizing Committee were developed,and many of these techniques have since been integrated into the CMA’s operational national forecasting systems.These accomplishments were facilitated by a dedicated weather forecasting and research initiative,in conjunction with the preexisting real-time operational forecasting systems of the CMA.This program represents one of the five subprograms of the WMO’s high-impact weather forecasting demonstration project(SMART2022),and continues to play an important role in their Regional Association(RA)II Research Development Project(Hangzhou RDP).Therefore,the research accomplishments and meteorological service experiences from this program will be carried forward into forthcoming highimpact weather forecasting activities.This article provides an overview and assessment of this program and the operational national forecasting systems.
基金Key Project of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (42330611)National Natural Science Foundation of China (42105008)。
文摘This study investigated the growth of forecast errors stemming from initial conditions(ICs),lateral boundary conditions(LBCs),and model(MO)perturbations,as well as their interactions,by conducting seven 36 h convectionallowing ensemble forecast(CAEF)experiments.Two cases,one with strong-forcing(SF)and the other with weak-forcing(WF),occurred over the Yangtze-Huai River basin(YHRB)in East China,were selected to examine the sources of uncertainties associated with perturbation growth under varying forcing backgrounds and the influence of these backgrounds on growth.The perturbations exhibited distinct characteristics in terms of temporal evolution,spatial propagation,and vertical distribution under different forcing backgrounds,indicating a dependence between perturbation growth and forcing background.A comparison of the perturbation growth in different precipitation areas revealed that IC and LBC perturbations were significantly influenced by the location of precipitation in the SF case,while MO perturbations were more responsive to convection triggering and dominated in the WF case.The vertical distribution of perturbations showed that the sources of uncertainties and the performance of perturbations varied between SF and WF cases,with LBC perturbations displaying notable case dependence.Furthermore,the interactions between perturbations were considered by exploring the added values of different source perturbations.For the SF case,the added values of IC,LBC,and MO perturbations were reflected in different forecast periods and different source uncertainties,suggesting that the combination of multi-source perturbations can yield positive interactions.In the WF case,MO perturbations provided a more accurate estimation of uncertainties downstream of the Dabie Mountain and need to be prioritized in the research on perturbation development.
文摘The breeding method has been widely used to generate ensemble perturbations in ensemble forecasting due to its simple concept and low computational cost. This method produces the fastest growing perturbation modes to catch the growing components in analysis errors. However, the bred vectors (BVs) are evolved on the same dynamical flow, which may increase the dependence of perturbations. In contrast, the nonlinear local Lyapunov vector (NLLV) scheme generates flow-dependent perturbations as in the breeding method, but regularly conducts the Gram-Schmidt reorthonormalization processes on the perturbations. The resulting NLLVs span the fast-growing perturbation subspace efficiently, and thus may grasp more com- ponents in analysis errors than the BVs. In this paper, the NLLVs are employed to generate initial ensemble perturbations in a barotropic quasi-geostrophic model. The performances of the ensemble forecasts of the NLLV method are systematically compared to those of the random pertur- bation (RP) technique, and the BV method, as well as its improved version--the ensemble transform Kalman filter (ETKF) method. The results demonstrate that the RP technique has the worst performance in ensemble forecasts, which indicates the importance of a flow-dependent initialization scheme. The ensemble perturbation subspaces of the NLLV and ETKF methods are preliminarily shown to catch similar components of analysis errors, which exceed that of the BVs. However, the NLLV scheme demonstrates slightly higher ensemble forecast skill than the ETKF scheme. In addition, the NLLV scheme involves a significantly simpler algorithm and less computation time than the ETKF method, and both demonstrate better ensemble forecast skill than the BV scheme.
基金supported by the National Basic Research(973)Program of China [grant number2015CB954102]the National Natural Science Foundation of China [grant number 41475043]the National Key R&D Program of China [grant number 2018YFC1507403]
文摘The North China Plain often su ers heavy haze pollution events in the cold season due to the rapid industrial development and urbanization in recent decades.In the winter of 2015,the megacity cluster of Beijing Tianjin Hebei experienced a seven-day extreme haze pollution episode with peak PM2.5(particulate matter(PM)with an aerodynamic diameter≤2.5μm)concentration of 727μg m 3.Considering the in uence of meteorological conditions on pollu-tant evolution,the e ects of varying initial conditions and lateral boundary conditions(LBCs)of the WRF-Chem model on PM2.5 concentration variation were investigated through ensemble methods.A control run(CTRL)and three groups of ensemble experiments(INDE,BDDE,INBDDE)were carried out based on difierent initial conditions and LBCs derived from ERA5 reanalysis data and its 10 ensemble members.The CTRL run reproduced the meteorological conditions and the overall life cycle of the haze event reasonably well,but failed to capture the intense oscillation of the instantaneous PM2.5 concentration.However,the ensemble forecasting showed a considerable advantage to some extent.Compared with the CTRL run,the root-mean-square error(RMSE)of PM2.5 concentration decreased by 4.33%,6.91%,and 8.44%in INDE,BDDE and INBDDE,respectively,and the RMSE decreases of wind direction(5.19%,8.89%and 9.61%)were the dominant reason for the improvement of PM2.5 concentration in the three ensemble experiments.Based on this case,the ensemble scheme seems an e ective method to improve the prediction skill of wind direction and PM2.5 concentration by using the WRF-Chem model.
基金sponsored by the National Natural Science Foun-dation of China(Grant No.42330111).
文摘In this article,our nonlinear theory and technology for reducing the uncertainties of high-impact ocean‒atmosphere event predictions,with the conditional nonlinear optimal perturbation(CNOP)method as its core,are reviewed,and the“spring predictability barrier”problem for El Nino‒Southern Oscillation events and targeted observation issues for tropical cyclone forecasts are taken as two representative examples.Nonlinear theory reveals that initial errors of particular spatial structures,environmental conditions,and nonlinear processes contribute to significant prediction errors,whereas nonlinear technology provides a pioneering approach for reducing observational and forecast errors via targeted observations through the application of the CNOP method.Follow-up research further validates the scientific rigor of the theory in revealing the nonlinear mechanism of significant prediction errors,and relevant practical field campaigns for targeted observations verify the effectiveness of the technology in reducing prediction uncertainties.The CNOP method has achieved international recognition;furthermore,its applications further extend to ensemble forecasts for weather and climate and further enrich the nonlinear technology for reducing prediction uncertainties.It is expected that this nonlinear theory and technology will play a considerably important role in reducing prediction uncertainties for high-impact weather and climate events.
基金funding from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 41375110 and 41522502)
文摘It has been demonstrated that ensemble mean forecasts, in the context of the sample mean, have higher forecasting skill than deterministic(or single) forecasts. However, few studies have focused on quantifying the relationship between their forecast errors, especially in individual prediction cases. Clarification of the characteristics of deterministic and ensemble mean forecasts from the perspective of attractors of dynamical systems has also rarely been involved. In this paper, two attractor statistics—namely, the global and local attractor radii(GAR and LAR, respectively)—are applied to reveal the relationship between deterministic and ensemble mean forecast errors. The practical forecast experiments are implemented in a perfect model scenario with the Lorenz96 model as the numerical results for verification. The sample mean errors of deterministic and ensemble mean forecasts can be expressed by GAR and LAR, respectively, and their ratio is found to approach2^(1/2) with lead time. Meanwhile, the LAR can provide the expected ratio of the ensemble mean and deterministic forecast errors in individual cases.
文摘Ensemble techniques have been used to generate daily numerical weather forecasts since the 1990s in numerical centers around the world due to the increase in computation ability. One of the main purposes of numerical ensemble forecasts is to try to assimilate the initial uncertainty (initial error) and the forecast uncertainty (forecast error) by applying either the initial perturbation method or the multi-model/multiphysics method. In fact, the mean of an ensemble forecast offers a better forecast than a deterministic (or control) forecast after a short lead time (3-5 days) for global modelling applications. There is about a 1-2-day improvement in the forecast skill when using an ensemble mean instead of a single forecast for longer lead-time. The skillful forecast (65% and above of an anomaly correlation) could be extended to 8 days (or longer) by present-day ensemble forecast systems. Furthermore, ensemble forecasts can deliver a probabilistic forecast to the users, which is based on the probability density function (PDF) instead of a single-value forecast from a traditional deterministic system. It has long been recognized that the ensemble forecast not only improves our weather forecast predictability but also offers a remarkable forecast for the future uncertainty, such as the relative measure of predictability (RMOP) and probabilistic quantitative precipitation forecast (PQPF). Not surprisingly, the success of the ensemble forecast and its wide application greatly increase the confidence of model developers and research communities.
基金supported by a project of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 40875079)
文摘In this study, the Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences - regional ensemble forecast system (IAP-REFS) described in Part I was further validated through a 65-day experiment using the summer season of 2010. The verification results show that IAP-REFS is skillful for quantitative precipitation forecasts (QPF) and probabilistic QPF, but it has a systematic bias in forecasting near-surface variables. Applying a 7-day running mean bias correction to the forecasts of near-surface variables remarkably improved the reliability of the forecasts. In this study, the perturbation extraction and inflation method (proposed with the single case study in Part I) was further applied to the full season with different inflation factors. This method increased the ensemble spread and improved the accuracy of forecasts of precipitation and near-surface variables. The seasonal mean profiles of the IAP-REFS ensemble indicate good spread among ensemble members and some model biases at certain vertical levels.
基金supported by the project of the NSFC (Grants No. 40875079)
文摘A single-model, short-range, ensemble forecasting system (Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Regional Ensemble Forecast System, IAP REFS) with 15-km grid spacing, configured with multiple initial conditions, multiple lateral boundary conditions, and multiple physics parameterizations with 11 ensemble members, was developed using the Weather and Research Forecasting Model Advanced Research modeling system for prediction of stratiform precipitation events in northern China. This is the first part of a broader research project to develop a novel cloud-seeding operational system in a probabilistic framework. The ensemble perturbations were extracted from selected members of the National Center for Environmental Prediction Global Ensemble Forecasting System (NCEP GEFS) forecasts, and an inflation factor of two was applied to compensate for the lack of spread in the GEFS forecasts over the research region. Experiments on an actual stratiform precipitation case that occurred on 5-7 June 2009 in northern China were conducted to validate the ensemble system. The IAP REFS system had reasonably good performance in predicting the observed stratiform precipitation system. The perturbation inflation enlarged the ensemble spread and alleviated the underdispersion caused by parent forecasts. Centering the extracted perturbations on higher-resolution NCEP Global Forecast System forecasts resulted in less ensemble mean root-mean-square error and better accuracy in probabilistic quantitative precipitation forecasts (PQPF). However, the perturbation inflation and recentering had less effect on near-surface-level variables compared to the mid-level variables, and its influence on PQPF resolution was limited as well.