A Case Study of Impact of FY-2C Satellite Data in Cloud Analysis to Improve Short-Range Precipitation Forecast

Chinese FengYun-2C(FY-2C) satellite data were combined into the Local Analysis and Prediction System(LAPS) model to obtain three-dimensional cloud parameters and rain content. These parameters analyzed by LAPS were used to initialize the Global/Regional Assimilation and Prediction System model(GRAPES) in China to predict precipitation in a rainstorm case in the country. Three prediction experiments were conducted and were used to investigate the impacts of FY-2C satellite data on cloud analysis of LAPS and on short range precipitation forecasts. In the first experiment, the initial cloud fields was zero value. In the second, the initial cloud fields were cloud liquid water, cloud ice, and rain content derived from LAPS without combining the satellite data. In the third experiment, the initial cloud fields were cloud liquid water, cloud ice, and rain content derived from LAPS including satellite data. The results indicated that the FY-2C satellite data combination in LAPS can show more realistic cloud distributions, and the model simulation for precipitation in 1–6 h had certain improvements over that when satellite data and complex cloud analysis were not applied.

Impact of assimilating FY-3C MWHS2 data in the RMAPS-ST forecast system on its rainfall forecasts

In order to evaluate the impact of assimilating FY-3C satellite Microwave Humidity Sounder(MWHS2)data on rainfall forecasts in the new-generation Rapid-refresh Multi-scale Analysis and Prediction System–Short Term(RMAPS-ST)operational system,which is developed by the Institute of Urban Meteorology of the China Meteorological Administration,four experiments were carried out in this study:(i)Coldstart(no observations assimilated);(ii)CON(assimilation of conventional observations);(iii)FY3(assimilation of FY-3C MWHS2 only);and(iv)FY3+CON(simultaneous assimilation of FY-3C MWHS2 and conventional observations).A precipitation process that took place in central-eastern China during 4–6 June 2019 was selected as a case study.When the authors assimilated the FY-3C MWHS2 data in the RMAPS-ST operational system,data quality control and bias correction were performed so that the O-B(observation minus background)values of the five humidity channels of MWHS2 became closer to a normal distribution,and the data basically satisfied the unbiased assumption.The results showed that,in this case,the predictions of both precipitation location and intensity were improved in the FY3+CON experiment compared with the other three experiments.Meanwhile,the prediction of atmospheric parameters for the mesoscale field was also improved,and the RMSE of the specific humidity forecast at the 850–400 hPa height was reduced.This study implies that FY-3C MWHS2 data can be successfully assimilated in a regional numerical model and has the potential to improve the forecasting of rainfall.

China land soil moisture EnKF data assimilation based on satellite remote sensing data

Soil moisture plays an important role in land-atmosphere interactions. It is an important geophysical parameter in research on climate, hydrology, agriculture, and forestry. Soil moisture has important climatic effects by influencing ground evapotranspi ration, runoff, surface reflectivity, surface emissivity, surface sensible heat and latent heat flux. At the global scale, the extent of its influence on the atmosphere is second only to that of sea surface temperature. At the terrestrial scale, its influence is even greater than that of sea surface temperatures. This paper presents a China Land Soil Moisture Data Assimilation System (CLSMDAS) based on EnKF and land process models, and results of the application of this system in the China Land Soil Moisture Data Assimilation tests. CLSMDAS is comprised of the following components: 1) A land process mo del—Community Land Model Version 3.0 (CLM3.0)—developed by the US National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR); 2) Precipitation of atmospheric forcing data and surface-incident solar radiation data come from hourly outputs of the FY2 geostationary meteorological satellite; 3) EnKF (Ensemble Kalman Filter) land data assimilation method; and 4) Observa tion data including satellite-inverted soil moisture outputs of the AMSR-E satellite and soil moisture observation data. Results of soil moisture assimilation tests from June to September 2006 were analyzed with CLSMDAS. Both simulation and assimila tion results of the land model reflected reasonably the temporal-spatial distribution of soil moisture. The assimilated soil mois ture distribution matches very well with severe summer droughts in Chongqing and Sichuan Province in August 2006, the worst since the foundation of the People’s Republic of China in 1949. It also matches drought regions that occurred in eastern Hubei and southern Guangxi in September.