Applications of Bias-removed Ensemble Mean in the Gale Forecasts over the Yellow Sea and the Bohai Sea

Based on the daily sea surface wind field prediction data of Japan Meteorological Agency(JMA) forecast model,National Centers for Environmental Prediction(NCEP GFS) model and U.S.Navy Operational Global Atmospheric Prediction System(NOGAPS) model at 12:00 UTC from June 28 to August 10 in 2009,the bias-removed ensemble mean(BRE) was used to do the forecast test on the sea surface wind fields,and the root-mean-square error(RMSE) was used to test and evaluate the forecast results.The results showed that the BRE considerably reduced the RMSEs of 24 and 48 h sea surface wind field forecasts,and the forecast skill was superior to that of the single model forecast.The RMSE decreases in the south of central Bohai Sea and the middle of the Yellow Sea were the most obvious.In addition,the BRE forecast improved evidently the forecast skill of the gale process which occurred during July 13-14 and August 7 in 2009.The forecast accuracy of the wind speed and the gale location was also improved.

The Relationship between Deterministic and Ensemble Mean Forecast Errors Revealed by Global and Local Attractor Radii

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.

Assessing the Performance of a Dynamical Downscaling Simulation Driven by a Bias-Corrected CMIP6 Dataset for Asian Climate

In this study,we aim to assess dynamical downscaling simulations by utilizing a novel bias-corrected global climate model(GCM)data to drive a regional climate model(RCM)over the Asia-western North Pacific region.Three simulations were conducted with a 25-km grid spacing for the period 1980–2014.The first simulation(WRF_ERA5)was driven by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts Reanalysis 5(ERA5)dataset and served as the validation dataset.The original GCM dataset(MPI-ESM1-2-HR model)was used to drive the second simulation(WRF_GCM),while the third simulation(WRF_GCMbc)was driven by the bias-corrected GCM dataset.The bias-corrected GCM data has an ERA5-based mean and interannual variance and long-term trends derived from the ensemble mean of 18 CMIP6 models.Results demonstrate that the WRF_GCMbc significantly reduced the root-mean-square errors(RMSEs)of the climatological mean of downscaled variables,including temperature,precipitation,snow,wind,relative humidity,and planetary boundary layer height by 50%–90%compared to the WRF_GCM.Similarly,the RMSEs of interannual-tointerdecadal variances of downscaled variables were reduced by 30%–60%.Furthermore,the WRF_GCMbc better captured the annual cycle of the monsoon circulation and intraseasonal and day-to-day variabilities.The leading empirical orthogonal function(EOF)shows a monopole precipitation mode in the WRF_GCM.In contrast,the WRF_GCMbc successfully reproduced the observed tri-pole mode of summer precipitation over eastern China.This improvement could be attributed to a better-simulated location of the western North Pacific subtropical high in the WRF_GCMbc after GCM bias correction.

Improving Multimodel Weather Forecast of Monsoon Rain Over China Using FSU Superensemble

In this paper we present the current capabilities for numerical weather prediction of precipitation over China using a suite of ten multimodels and our superensemble based forecasts. Our suite of models includes the operational suite selected by NCARs TIGGE archives for the THORPEX Program. These are： ECMWF, UKMO, JMA, NCEP, CMA, CMC, BOM, MF, KMA and the CPTEC models. The superensemble strategy includes a training and a forecasts phase, for these the periods chosen for this study include the months February through September for the years 2007 and 2008. This paper addresses precipitation forecasts for the medium range i.e. Days 1 to 3 and extending out to Day 10 of forecasts using this suite of global models. For training and forecasts validations we have made use of an advanced TRMM satellite based rainfall product. We make use of standard metrics for forecast validations that include the RMS errors, spatial correlations and the equitable threat scores. The results of skill forecasts of precipitation clearly demonstrate that it is possible to obtain higher skills for precipitation forecasts for Days 1 through 3 of forecasts from the use of the multimodel superensemble as compared to the best model of this suite. Between Days 4 to 10 it is possible to have very high skills from the multimodel superensemble for the RMS error of precipitation. Those skills are shown for a global belt and especially over China. Phenomenologically this product was also found very useful for precipitation forecasts for the Onset of the South China Sea monsoon, the life cycle of the mei-yu rains and post typhoon landfall heavy rains and flood events. The higher skills of the multimodel superensemble make it a very useful product for such real time events.

An Effective Configuration of Ensemble Size and Horizontal Resolution for the NCEP GEFS

Two important questions are addressed in this paper using the Global Ensemble Forecast System （GEFS） from the National Centers for Environmental Prediction （NCEP）： （1） How many ensemble members are needed to better represent forecast uncertainties with limited computational resources？ （2） What is tile relative impact on forecast skill of increasing model resolution and ensemble size？ Two-month experiments at T126L28 resolution were used to test the impact of varying the ensemble size from 5 to 80 members at the 500- hPa geopotential height. Results indicate that increasing the ensemble size leads to significant improvements in the performance for all forecast ranges when measured by probabilistic metrics, but these improvements are not significant beyond 20 members for long forecast ranges when measured by deterministic metrics. An ensemble of 20 to 30 members is the most effective configuration of ensemble sizes by quantifying the tradeoff between ensemble performance and the cost of computational resources. Two representative configurations of the GEFS the T126L28 model with 70 members and the T190L28 model with 20 members, which have equivalent computing costs--were compared. Results confirm that, for the NCEP GEFS, increasing the model resolution is more （less） beneficial than increasing the ensemble size for a short （long） forecast range.

Using the Inverse of Expected Error Variance to Determine Weights of Individual Ensemble Members： Application to Temperature Prediction

The inverse of expected error variance is utilized to determine weights of individual ensemble members based on the THORPEX （The Observing System Research and Predictability Experiment） Interactive Grand Global Ensemble （TIGGE） forecast datasets. The weights of all ensemble members are thus calculated for summer 2012, with the NCEP final operational global analysis （FNL） data as the truth. Based on the weights of all ensemble members, the variable weighted ensemble mean （VWEM） of temperature of summer 2013 is derived and compared with that from the simple equally weighted ensemble mean. The results show that VWEM has lower root-mean-square error （RMSE） as well as absolute error, and has improved the temperature prediction accuracy. The improvements are quite notable over the Tibetan Plateau and its surrounding areas; specifically, a relative improvement rate of RMSE of more than 24% in 2-m temperature is demonstrated. Moreover, the improvement rates vary slightly with the pre- diction lead-time （24-96 h）. It is suggested that the VWEM approach be employed in operational ensemble predic- tion to provide guidance for weather forecasting and climate prediction.

A Comparison of Three Kinds of Multimodel Ensemble Forecast Techniques Based on the TIGGE Data

Based on the ensemble mean outputs of the ensemble forecasts from the ECMWF （European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts）, JMA （Japan Meteorological Agency）, NCEP （National Centers for Environmental Prediction）, and UKMO （United Kingdom Met Office） in THORPEX （The Observing System Research and Predictability Experiment） Interactive Grand Global Ensemble （TIGGE） datasets, for the Northern Hemisphere （10~ 87.5~N, 0~ 360~） from i June 2007 to 31 August 2007, this study carried out multimodel ensemble forecasts of surface temperature and 500-hPa geopotential height, temperature and winds up to 168 h by using the bias-removed ensemble mean （BREM）, the multiple linear regression based superensemble （LRSUP）, and the neural network based superensemble （NNSUP） techniques for the forecast period from 8 to 31 August 2007. A running training period is used for BREM and LRSUP ensemble forecast techniques. It is found that BREM and LRSUP, at each grid point, have different optimal lengths of the training period. In general, the optimal training period for BREM is less than 30 days in most areas, while for LRSUP it is about 45 days.

Algorithm based on local breeding of growing modes for convection-allowing ensemble forecasting

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.

Ensemble Prediction of Monsoon Index with a Genetic Neural Network Model

After the consideration of the nonlinear nature changes of monsoon index,and the subjective determination of network structure in traditional artificial neural network prediction modeling,monthly and seasonal monsoon intensity index prediction is studied in this paper by using nonlinear genetic neural network ensemble prediction（GNNEP）modeling.It differs from traditional prediction modeling in the following aspects： （1）Input factors of the GNNEP model of monsoon index were selected from a large quantity of preceding period high correlation factors,such as monthly sea temperature fields,monthly 500-hPa air temperature fields,monthly 200-hPa geopotential height fields,etc.,and they were also highly information-condensed and system dimensionality-reduced by using the empirical orthogonal function（EOF）method,which effectively condensed the useful information of predictors and therefore controlled the size of network structure of the GNNEP model.（2）In the input design of the GNNEP model,a mean generating function（MGF）series of predictand（monsoon index）was added as an input factor;the contrast analysis of results of predic- tion experiments by a physical variable predictor-predictand MGF GNNEP model and a physical variable predictor GNNEP model shows that the incorporation of the periodical variation of predictand（monsoon index）is very effective in improving the prediction of monsoon index.（3）Different from the traditional neural network modeling,the GNNEP modeling is able to objectively determine the network structure of the GNNNEP model,and the model constructed has a better generalization capability.In the case of identical predictors,prediction modeling samples,and independent prediction samples,the prediction accuracy of our GNNEP model combined with the system dimensionality reduction technique of predictors is clearly higher than that of the traditional stepwise regression model using the traditional treatment technique of predictors,suggesting that the GNNEP model opens up a vast range of possibilities for operational weather prediction.

Connections Between the South Asian Summer Monsoon and the Tropical Sea Surface Temperature in CMIP5

The South Asian summer monsoon（SASM） precipitation is analyzed based on reanalysis datasets and historical simulation results from 23 climate models of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 5（CMIP5）. The results show that most models reproduce well the climatological pattern of SASM precipitation, but the main rainfall period lags that of the reanalysis by one month. The relationship between the simulated SASM precipitation and sea surface temperature anomalies（SSTAs） is quite similar to the reanalysis data. This is attributed to the well-reproduced Walker cell anomaly in the tropical zone. It is projected that the negative correlation between SASM precipitation and SSTAs in the eastern equatorial Pacific will weaken and even reverse to a positive one in the period 2070–2096 under the representative concentration pathway（RCP） scenario with strong external forcing（RCP8.5）, while the change of the correlation under moderate forcing（RCP4.5） still has great uncertainty.