Operational assimilation of space-borne radar and lidar cloud profile observations for numerical weather prediction. Observation quality and pre-processing

Title
Operational assimilation of space-borne radar and lidar cloud profile observations for numerical weather prediction. Observation quality and pre-processing
Report
Date Published
2018
Series/Collection
ESA Contract Report
Document Number
WP-2000
Author
M. Fielding
M. Janiskova
Event Series/Collection
ESA Contract Report
Abstract

This report details the development of a monitoring system and observations pre-processing system in preparation for the direct assimilation of Earth, Clouds, Aerosols and Radiation Explorer (EarthCARE) cloud radar and lidar within the Four-Dimensional Variational Assimilation (4D-Var) system used at European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF). The work is divided into three sections. Firstly, the observation operators and their gradient are refined and tested for inclusion in the Integrated Forecasting System (IFS) of ECMWF. Secondly, initial screening thresholds, bias correction and observation error specified as part of `scientific pre-processing developments'. Finally, the data monitoring system is defined, using a combination of in-house tools and off-line experiments to select an optimal set of indicators for the detection of instrument drift and errors.
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