Non-crossing Quantile Regression Neural Network as a Calibration Tool for Ensemble Weather Forecasts

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.

Improving Model Chain Approaches for Probabilistic Solar Energy Forecasting through Post-processing and Machine Learning

Weather forecasts from numerical weather prediction models play a central role in solar energy forecasting,where a cascade of physics-based models is used in a model chain approach to convert forecasts of solar irradiance to solar power production.Ensemble simulations from such weather models aim to quantify uncertainty in the future development of the weather,and can be used to propagate this uncertainty through the model chain to generate probabilistic solar energy predictions.However,ensemble prediction systems are known to exhibit systematic errors,and thus require post-processing to obtain accurate and reliable probabilistic forecasts.The overarching aim of our study is to systematically evaluate different strategies to apply post-processing in model chain approaches with a specific focus on solar energy:not applying any post-processing at all;post-processing only the irradiance predictions before the conversion;post-processing only the solar power predictions obtained from the model chain;or applying post-processing in both steps.In a case study based on a benchmark dataset for the Jacumba solar plant in the U.S.,we develop statistical and machine learning methods for postprocessing ensemble predictions of global horizontal irradiance(GHI)and solar power generation.Further,we propose a neural-network-based model for direct solar power forecasting that bypasses the model chain.Our results indicate that postprocessing substantially improves the solar power generation forecasts,in particular when post-processing is applied to the power predictions.The machine learning methods for post-processing slightly outperform the statistical methods,and the direct forecasting approach performs comparably to the post-processing strategies.

Mechanical characterization and induced crystallization in nanocomposites of thermoplastics and carbon nanotubes

Nanocomposites built from polymers and carbon nanotubes(CNTs)are a promising class of materials.Computer modeling can provide nanoscale views of the polymer–CNT interface,which are much needed to foster the manufacturing and development of such materials.However,setting up periodic nanocomposite models is a challenging task.Here we propose a computational workflow based on Molecular Dynamics simulations.