The Forecast Skills and Predictability Sources of Marine Heatwaves in the NUIST-CFS1.0 Hindcasts

Using monthly observations and ensemble hindcasts of the Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology Climate Forecast System(NUIST-CFS1.0) for the period 1983–2020, this study investigates the forecast skill of marine heatwaves(MHWs) over the globe and the predictability sources of the MHWs over the tropical oceans. The MHW forecasts are demonstrated to be skillful on seasonal-annual time scales, particularly in tropical oceans. The forecast skill of the MHWs over the tropical Pacific Ocean(TPO) remains high at lead times of 1–24 months, indicating a forecast better than random chance for up to two years. The forecast skill is subject to the spring predictability barrier of El Nino-Southern Oscillation(ENSO). The forecast skills for the MHWs over the tropical Indian Ocean(TIO), tropical Atlantic Ocean(TAO), and tropical Northwest Pacific(NWP) are lower than that in the TPO. A reliable forecast at lead times of up to two years is shown over the TIO, while a shorter reliable forecast window(less than 17 months) occurs for the TAO and NWP.Additionally, the forecast skills for the TIO, TAO, and NWP are seasonally dependent. Higher skills for the TIO and TAO appear in boreal spring, while a greater skill for the NWP emerges in late summer-early autumn. Further analyses suggest that ENSO serves as a critical source of predictability for MHWs over the TIO and TAO in spring and MHWs over the NWP in summer.

Evaluation of the subseasonal forecast skill of surface soil moisture in the S2S database

Based on the reforecasts from ve models of the Subseasonal to Seasonal(S2S)Prediction project,the S2S prediction skill of surface soil moisture(SM)over East Asia during May September is evaluated against ERA-Interim.Results show that good prediction skill of SM is generally 510 forecast days prior over southern and northeastern China in the majority of models.Over the Tibetan Plateau and northwestern China,only the ECMWF model has good prediction skill 20 days in advance.Generally,better prediction skill tends to appear over wet regions rather than dry regions.In terms of the seasonal variation of SM prediction skill,some diffierences are noticed among the models,but most of them show good prediction skill during September.Furthermore,the significant positive correlation between the prediction skill of SM and ENSO index indicates modulation by ENSO of the S2S prediction of SM.When there is an El Nino(a La Nina)event,the SM prediction skill over eastern China tends to be high(low).Through evaluation of the S2S prediction skill of SM in these models,it is found that the prediction skill of SM is lower than that of most atmospheric variables in S2S forecasts.Therefore,more attention needs to be given to the S2S forecasting of land processes.

Factors Limiting the Forecast Skill of the Boreal Summer Intraseasonal Oscillation in a Subseasonal-to-Seasonal Model

In this study,we evaluate the forecast skill of the subseasonal-to-seasonal(S2S)prediction model of the Beijing Climate Center(BCC)for the boreal summer intraseasonal oscillation(BSISO).We also discuss the key factors that inhibit the BSISO forecast skill in this model.Based on the bivariate anomaly correlation coefficient(ACC)of the BSISO index,defined by the first two EOF modes of outgoing longwave radiation and 850-hPa zonal wind anomalies over the Asian monsoon region,we found that the hindcast skill degraded as the lead time increased.The ACC dropped to below 0.5for lead times of 11 days and longer when the predicted BSISO showed weakened strength and insignificant northward propagation.To identify what causes the weakened forecast skill of BSISO at the forecast lead time of 11 days,we diagnosed the main mechanisms responsible for the BSISO northward propagation.The same analysis was also carried out using the observations and the outputs of the four-day forecast lead that successfully predicted the observed northward-propagating BSISO.We found that the lack of northward propagation at the 11-day forecast lead was due to insufficient increases in low-level cyclonic vorticity,moistening and warm temperature anomalies to the north of the convection,which were induced by the interaction between background mean flows and BSISO-related anomalous fields.The BCC S2S model can predict the background monsoon circulations,such as the low-level southerly and the northerly and easterly vertical shears,but has limited capability in forecasting the distributions of circulation and moisture anomalies.

A New Way to Predict Forecast Skill

Forecast skill (Anomaly Correlated Coefficient, ACC) is a quantity to show the forecast quality of the products of numerical weather forecasting models. Predicting forecast skill, which is the foundation of ensemble forecasting, means submitting products to predict their forecast quality before they are used. Checking the reason is to understand the predictability for the real cases. This kind of forecasting service has been put into operational use by statistical methods previously at the National Meteorological Center (NMC), USA (now called the National Center for Environmental Prediction (NCEP)) and European Center for Medium-range Weather Forecast (ECMWF). However, this kind of service is far from satisfactory because only a single variable is used with the statistical method. In this paper, a new way based on the Grey Control Theory with multiple predictors to predict forecast skill of forecast products of the T42L9 of the NMC, China Meteorological Administration (CMA) is introduced. The results show: (1) The correlation coefficients between 'forecasted' and real forecast skill range from 0.56 to 0.7 at different seasons during the two-year period. (2) The grey forecasting model GM(1,8) forecasts successfully the high peaks, the increasing or decreasing tendency, and the turning points of the change of forecast skill of cases from 5 January 1990 to 29 February 1992.

Ensemble Mean Forecast Skill and Applications with the T213 Ensemble Prediction System

Ensemble forecasting has become the prevailing method in current operational weather forecasting. Although ensemble mean forecast skill has been studied for many ensemble prediction systems（EPSs） and different cases, theoretical analysis regarding ensemble mean forecast skill has rarely been investigated, especially quantitative analysis without any assumptions of ensemble members. This paper investigates fundamental questions about the ensemble mean, such as the advantage of the ensemble mean over individual members, the potential skill of the ensemble mean, and the skill gain of the ensemble mean with increasing ensemble size. The average error coefficient between each pair of ensemble members is the most important factor in ensemble mean forecast skill, which determines the mean-square error of ensemble mean forecasts and the skill gain with increasing ensemble size. More members are useful if the errors of the members have lower correlations with each other, and vice versa. The theoretical investigation in this study is verified by application with the T213 EPS. A typical EPS has an average error coefficient of between 0.5 and 0.8; the 15-member T213 EPS used here reaches a saturation degree of 95%（i.e., maximum 5% skill gain by adding new members with similar skill to the existing members） for 1–10-day lead time predictions, as far as the mean-square error is concerned.

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.

Performance of the Seasonal Forecasting of the Asian Summer Monsoon by BCC_CSM1.1(m)

This paper provides a comprehensive assessment of Asian summer monsoon prediction skill as a function of lead time and its relationship to sea surface temperature prediction using the seasonal hindcasts of the Beijing Climate Center Climate System Model, BCC_CSM1. l（m）. For the South and Southeast Asian summer monsoon, reasonable skill is found in the model＇s forecasting of certain aspects of monsoon climatology and spatiotemporal variability. Nevertheless, deficiencies such as significant forecast errors over the tropical western North Pacific and the eastern equatorial Indian Ocean are also found. In particular, overestimation of the connections of some dynamical monsoon indices with large-scale circulation and precipitation patterns exists in most ensemble mean forecasts, even for short lead-time forecasts. Variations of SST, measured by the first mode over the tropical Pacific and Indian oceans, as well as the spatiotemporal features over the Nifio3.4 region, are overall well predicted. However, this does not necessarily translate into successful forecasts of the Asian summer monsoon by the model. Diagnostics of the relationships between monsoon and SST show that difficulties in predicting the South Asian monsoon can be mainly attributed to the limited regional response of monsoon in observations but the extensive and exaggerated response in predictions due partially to the application of ensemble average forecasting methods. In contrast, in spite of a similar deficiency, the Southeast Asian monsoon can still be forecasted reasonably, probably because of its closer relationship with large-scale circulation patterns and E1 Nifio-Southern Oscillation.

MULTIMODEL CONSENSUS FORECASTING OF LOW TEMPERATURE AND ICY WEATHER OVER CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN CHINA IN EARLY 2008

Based on the daily mean temperature and 24-h accumulated total precipitation over central and southern China, the features and the possible causes of the extreme weather events with low temperature and icing conditions,which occurred in the southern part of China during early 2008, are investigated in this study. In addition, multimodel consensus forecasting experiments are conducted by using the ensemble forecasts of ECMWF, JMA, NCEP and CMA taken from the TIGGE archives. Results show that more than a third of the stations in the southern part of China were covered by the extremely abundant precipitation with a 50-a return period, and extremely low temperature with a 50-a return period occurred in the Guizhou and western Hunan province as well. For the 24- to 216-h surface temperature forecasts, the bias-removed multimodel ensemble mean with running training period(R-BREM) has the highest forecast skill of all individual models and multimodel consensus techniques. Taking the RMSEs of the ECMWF 96-h forecasts as the criterion, the forecast time of the surface temperature may be prolonged to 192 h over the southeastern coast of China by using the R-BREM technique. For the sprinkle forecasts over central and southern China, the R-BREM technique has the best performance in terms of threat scores(TS) for the 24- to 192-h forecasts except for the 72-h forecasts among all individual models and multimodel consensus techniques. For the moderate rain, the forecast skill of the R-BREM technique is superior to those of individual models and multimodel ensemble mean.

A Timescale Decomposed Threshold Regression Downscaling Approach to Forecasting South China Early Summer Rainfall

A timescale decomposed threshold regression （TSDTR） downscaling approach to forecasting South China early summer rainfall （SCESR） is described by using long-term observed station rainfall data and NOAA ERSST data. It makes use of two distinct regression downscaling models corresponding to the interannual and interdecadal rainfall variability of SCESR. The two models are developed based on the partial least squares （PLS） regression technique, linking SCESR to SST modes in preceding months on both interannual and interdecadal timescales. Specifically, using the datasets in the calibration period 1915-84, the variability of SCESR and SST are decomposed into interannual and interdecadal components. On the interannual timescale, a threshold PLS regression model is fitted to interannual components of SCESR and March SST patterns by taking account of the modulation of negative and positive phases of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation （PDO）. On the interdecadal timescale, a standard PLS regression model is fitted to the relationship between SCESR and preceding November SST patterns. The total rainfall prediction is obtained by the sum of the outputs from both the interannual and interdecadal models. Results show that the TSDTR downscaling approach achieves reasonable skill in predicting the observed rainfall in the validation period 1985-2006, compared to other simpler approaches. This study suggests that the TSDTR approach, considering different interannual SCESR-SST relationships under the modulation of PDO phases, as well as the interdecadal variability of SCESR associated with SST patterns, may provide a new perspective to improve climate predictions.

Ice concentration assimilation in a regional ice-ocean coupled model and its application in sea ice forecasting

A reasonable initial state of ice concentration is essential for accurate short-term forecasts of sea ice using ice-ocean coupled models. In this study, sea ice concentration data are assimilated into an operational ice forecast system based on a com- bined optimal interpolation and nudging scheme. The scheme produces a modeled sea ice concentration at every time step, based on the difference between observational and forecast data and on the ratio of observational error to modeled error. The impact and the effectiveness of data assimilation are investigated. Significant improvements to predictions of sea ice extent were obtained through the assimilation of ice concentration, and minor improvements through the adjustment of the upper ocean properties. The assimilation of ice thickness data did not significantly improve predictions. Forecast experiments show that the forecast accuracy is higher in summer, and that the errors on five-day forecasts occur mainly around the marginal ice zone.

Monthly Forecast of Indian Southwest Monsoon Rainfall Based on NCEP’s Coupled Forecast System

The monthly forecast of Indian monsoon rainfall during June to September is investigated by using the hindcast data sets of the National Centre for Environmental Prediction (NCEP)’s operational coupled model (known as the Climate Forecast System) for 25 years from 1981 to 2005 with 15 ensemble members each. The ensemble mean monthly rainfall over land region of India from CFS with one month lead forecast is underestimated during June to September. With respect to the inter-annual variability of monthly rainfall it is seen that the only significant correlation coefficients (CCs) are found to be for June forecast with May initial condition and September rainfall with August initial conditions. The CFS has got lowest skill for the month of August followed by that of July. Considering the lower skill of monthly forecast based on the ensemble mean, all 15 ensemble members are used separately for the preparation of probability forecast and different probability scores like Brier Score (BS), Brier Skill Score (BSS), Accuracy, Probability of Detection (POD), False Alarm Ratio (FAR), Threat Score (TS) and Heidke Skill Score (HSS) for all the three categories of forecasts (above normal, below normal and normal) have been calculated. In terms of the BS and BSS the skill of the monthly probability forecast in all the three categories are better than the climatology forecasts with positive BSS values except in case of normal forecast of June and July. The “TS”, “HSS” and other scores also provide useful probability forecast in case of CFS except the normal category of July forecast. Thus, it is seen that the monthly probability forecast based on NCEP CFS coupled model during the southwest monsoon season is very encouraging and is found to be very useful.

Skills Needs and Upskilling Addressing the European Metal AM Industry

As Europe seeks to retain its leading position in industrial competitiveness,there is an urgent need to establish a platform for Additive Manufacturing(AM)skills at European,National and Regional levels.AM processes enable economic component production through the efficient use of materials and increased design freedom as compared to conventional manufacturing.AM also raises the level of digital literacy among workers,and it contributes to the digitisation of European Industry.In face of this increasing growth of Metal AM technology,and consequent requirement of the definition of new professional profiles and skills and knowledge for personnel working in this sector,the European Federation for Welding,Joining and Cutting(EWF)recently launched the first International Additive Manufacturing Qualification System(IAMQS).For creating and managing the IAMQS,EWF relies on its experience of more than 25 years in managing a European/International Training/Educational System for qualification and certification of welding and joining personnel,covering different levels(from Operator to Engineer),assessing knowledge and skills(examination)and providing a Quality Assurance System that ensures that the same qualification is recognised in all countries that share the system,is recognised by the Industry and is accepted by Enterprises,professionals,training institutions and certification bodies.IAMQS is also based on the work currently being developed in the scope of three European Funded projects in the field of AM,in which EWF is actively involved,together with the respective partners from eight EU countries.In collaboration with SAM,CLLAIM and ADMIRE projects’partners,EWF has conducted market searches/surveys to collect information on market needs and possible solutions for future workers and professionals already involved in AM sector,carried out validation workshops with experts from the Industry and Education,and developed European qualification pathways.This systemic approach that encourages a close collaboration with major European AM companies and organisations to collect inputs from different sources in the creation of AM Qualification System,ensures Professional Profiles’quality and transparency.As a result of the skills gap analysis carried out by EWF during the last 2 years,7 Qualifications for Additive Manufacturing,ranging from Operator to Engineer levels,were developed,while others are being finalised and validated.

Development of a skill assessment tool for the Korea operational oceanographic system

A standard skill assessment （SA） tool was developed and implemented to evaluate the performance of op- erational forecast models in the Korea operational oceanographic system. The SA tool provided a robust way to assess model skill in the system by comparing predictions and observations, and involved the com- putation of multiple skill metrics including correlation and error skills. User- and system-based acceptance criteria of skill metrics were applied to determine whether predictions were acceptable for the system. To achieve this, the tool produced a time series comparison plot, a skill score table, and an advanced sum- marized diagram to effectively demonstrate the multiple skill scores. Moreover, the SA was conducted to evaluate both atmospheric and hydrodynamic forecast variables. For the atmospheric variables, acceptable error criteria were preferable to acceptable correlation criteria over short timescales, since the mean square error overwhelmed the observation variance. Conversely, for the hydrodynamic variables, acceptable root mean square percentage error （e.g., perms） criteria were preferable to acceptable error （e.g., erms） criteria owing to the spatially variable tidal intensity around the Korean Peninsula. Furthermore, the SA indicated that predetermined acceptance error criteria were appropriate to satisfy a target central frequency （fc） for which errors fell within the specified limits （i.e., the .fc equals 70%）.

Guidance on the Choice of Threshold for Binary Forecast Modeling

This paper proposes useful guidance on the choice of threshold for binary forecasts. In weather forecast systems, the probabilistic forecast cannot be used directly when estimated too smoothly. In this case, the binary forecast, whether a meteorological event will occur or not, is preferable to the probabilistic forecast. A threshold is needed to generate a binary forecast, and the guidance in this paper encompasses the use of skill scores for the choice of threshold according to the forecast pattern. The forecast pattern consists of distribution modes of estimated probabilities, occurrence rates of observations, and variation modes. This study is performed via Monte-Carlo simulation, with 48 forecast patterns considered. Estimated probabilities are generated by random variate sampling from five distributions separately. Varying the threshold from 0 to 1, binary forecasts are generated by threshold. For the assessment of binary forecast models, a 2×2 contingency table is used and four skill scores （Heidke skill score, hit rate, true skill statistic, and threat score） are compared for each forecast pattern. As a result, guidance on the choice of skill score to find the optimal threshold is proposed.

东亚区域人工智能气象大模型预报技巧评估

针对人工智能气象大模型的500 hPa位势高度、2 m气温、10 m风速、降水以及热带气旋路径等,从定性和定量两个角度进行评估。结果表明:从定性角度出发,FuXi、Pangu和GraphCast 3个大模型均会响应热带异常加热,其中Pangu与GraphCast响应强度接近,FuXi响应较弱。从定量角度出发,FuXi整体展现出更高的预报能力,其最大可用预报日数超过9.75 d,Pangu和GraphCast分别为8.75 d和8.5 d。在2 m气温预报中,FuXi的时间异常相关系数为0.48~0.91,Pangu和GraphCast分别为0.43~0.91和0.38~0.83。此外,采用TS(threat score)评分对FuXi和GraphCast降水预报进行评估,FuXi在晴雨、小雨和中雨预报中更具优势,其预报技巧分别为0.22~0.41、0.15~0.24和0.06~0.22,GraphCast在大雨预报中展现更强能力。针对2019年7月29日华北暴雨和2020年8月16—17日乐山暴雨两次极端降水个例进行分析,FuXi和GraphCast均可提前8 d预报降水的空间分布,但在降水量级预报中存在偏差,随着预报时效减小,偏差也逐渐减小。在热带气旋路径预报中,Pangu展现更高精度。

CFSv2对浙江省延伸期逐日降水预报性能评估及解释应用初探

利用CFSv2长序列回报资料和近6 a实时预报数据,系统分析了模式对浙江短中期(Short-medium Range,SMR,1~10 d)和延伸期(Extended Range,ER,11~30 d)逐日降水的预测性能,并基于系统误差订正(Systematic Bias Correction,SBC)技术开展了解释应用。结果表明:(1)模式回报技巧在SMR时段快速衰减,而在ER时段的衰减明显趋缓;SMR时段的相关系数远高于ER时段,但这两个时段的均方根误差较为接近;(2)从季节演变来看,模式技巧在秋冬季较高而在春夏季相对较低;(3)模式回报结果表现出显著的系统性偏差,这一偏差在各个起报日(提前1~30 d起报)中稳定存在,采用SBC技术开展解释应用,发现订正后模式的回报技巧在ER时段显著提升;(4)进一步将SBC技术应用于实时预报,发现实时预报的技巧也得到了一定的改善,且ER时段的改进效果更为显著。

两个集合预报系统对秦岭及周边降水预报性能对比

利用欧洲中期天气预报中心（ECMWF）、美国大气环境预报中心（NCEP）集合预报系统（EPS）降水量预报资料,CMORPH（NOAAClimate PredictionCenter Morphing Method）卫星与全国3万个自动气象站降水量融合资料,基于技巧评分、ROC（relative operating characteristic）分析等方法,对比两个集合预报系统对秦岭及周边地区的降水预报性能。结果表明：两个系统均能较好表现降水量的空间形态,对于不同量级降水,ECMWF集合预报系统0～240 h控制及扰动预报优于NCEP集合预报系统,但NCEP集合预报系统264～360 h预报时效整体表现更好;ECMWF集合预报系统0～120 h大雨集合平均优于NCEP集合预报系统,两个系统集合平均的预报技巧整体低于其控制及扰动成员预报,这种现象ECMWF集合预报系统表现更为显著;ECMWF集合预报系统降水预报概率优于NCEP集合预报系统。ROC分析显示,随着预报概率的增大,ECMWF集合预报系统在命中率略微下降的情况下,显著减小了空报率,NCEP集合预报系统则表现出高空报、高命中率。

修正的ECMWF质量通量积云参数化方案的预报试验

用一个有限区域业务预报模式，以１９９５年７—８月西北地区几次大范围的降水天气过程为试验个例，对经过修改的ＥＣＭＷＦ质量通量积云参数化方案和模式中的原Ｋｕｏ型积云参数化方案进行了共１３例４８ｈ的批量对比预报试验。结果显示：质量通量方案能给出比Ｋｕｏ型方案更合理的积云降水落区；质量通量方案对模式预报≥１０．０ｍｍ的降水有一定的改进。

我国地面降水的分级回归统计降尺度预报研究

利用TIGGE资料中欧洲中期天气预报中心（ECMWF,the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts）、日本气象厅（JMA,the Japan Meteorological Agency）、美国国家环境预报中心（NCEP,the National Centers for Environmental Prediction）以及英国气象局（UKMO,the UK Met Office）4个中心1~7 d预报的日降水量集合预报资料,并以中国降水融合产品作为＂观测值＂,对我国地面降水量预报进行统计降尺度处理。采用空间滑动窗口增加中雨和大雨雨量样本,建立分级雨量的回归方程,并与未分级雨量的统计降尺度预报进行对比。结果表明,对于不同模式、不同预报时效以及不同降水量级,统计降尺度的预报技巧改进程度不尽相同。统计降尺度的预报技巧依赖于模式本身的预报效果。相比雨量未分级回归,雨量分级回归的统计降尺度预报与观测值的距平相关系数更高,均方根误差更小,不同量级降水的ETS评分明显提高。对雨量分级回归统计降尺度预报结果进行二次订正,可大大减少小雨的空报。

两类天气预报评分问题研究及一种新评分方法

探讨了预报评价的意义及应遵循的原则,对常用的几种两类预报评分方法进行分析,指出其应用的局限性,得到一个判定所作预报水平是否高于随机预报、具有预报技巧的简易判别式;提出评分权重的概念,指出以往评分存在问题的根源是评分权重分配不当,使评分结果的真实性受到影响,评分无可比性,进而提出一种考虑了评分权重的新评分方法。新评分方法满足预报评价的原则,侧重于对两类事件中事件概率较小一方预报效果的评估,评分结果不受事件概率影响,具有可比性。对比分析表明:新方法比其他方法优越,能更准确地反映预报水平,使不同季节、不同地域的预报评分可进行比较,是一个通用的评分方法。