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Distortion Representation of Forecast Errors for Model Skill Assessment and Objective AnalysisWe proposed a novel characterization of errors for numerical weather predictions. In its simplest form we decompose the error into a part attributable to phase errors and a remainder. The phase error is represented in the same fashion as a velocity field and is required to vary slowly and smoothly with position. A general distortion representation allows for the displacement and amplification or bias correction of forecast anomalies. Characterizing and decomposing forecast error in this way has two important applications, which we term the assessment application and the objective analysis application. For the assessment application, our approach results in new objective measures of forecast skill which are more in line with subjective measures of forecast skill and which are useful in validating models and diagnosing their shortcomings. With regard to the objective analysis application, meteorological analysis schemes balance forecast error and observational error to obtain an optimal analysis. Presently, representations of the error covariance matrix used to measure the forecast error are severely limited. For the objective analysis application our approach will improve analyses by providing a more realistic measure of the forecast error. We expect, a priori, that our approach should greatly improve the utility of remotely sensed data which have relatively high horizontal resolution, but which are indirectly related to the conventional atmospheric variables. In this project, we are initially focusing on the assessment application, restricted to a realistic but univariate 2-dimensional situation. Specifically, we study the forecast errors of the sea level pressure (SLP) and 500 hPa geopotential height fields for forecasts of the short and medium range. Since the forecasts are generated by the GEOS (Goddard Earth Observing System) data assimilation system with and without ERS 1 scatterometer data, these preliminary studies serve several purposes. They (1) provide a testbed for the use of the distortion representation of forecast errors, (2) act as one means of validating the GEOS data assimilation system and (3) help to describe the impact of the ERS 1 scatterometer data.
Document ID
19970028019
Acquisition Source
Goddard Space Flight Center
Document Type
Contractor Report (CR)
Authors
Hoffman, Ross N. (Atmospheric and Environmental Research, Inc. Cambridge, MA United States)
Nehrkorn, Thomas (Atmospheric and Environmental Research, Inc. Cambridge, MA United States)
Grassotti, Christopher (Atmospheric and Environmental Research, Inc. Cambridge, MA United States)
Date Acquired
September 6, 2013
Publication Date
August 15, 1997
Subject Category
Meteorology And Climatology
Report/Patent Number
NASA-CR-205132
P-559
NAS 1.26:205132
Accession Number
97N26893
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NAS5-32953
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Public Use Permitted.

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