Improving the Short-Range Precipitation Forecast of Numerical Weather Prediction through a Deep Learning-Based Mask Approach

Due to various technical issues,existing numerical weather prediction(NWP)models often perform poorly at forecasting rainfall in the first several hours.To correct the bias of an NWP model and improve the accuracy of short-range precipitation forecasting,we propose a deep learning-based approach called UNet Mask,which combines NWP forecasts with the output of a convolutional neural network called UNet.The UNet Mask involves training the UNet on historical data from the NWP model and gridded rainfall observations for 6-hour precipitation forecasting.The overlap of the UNet output and the NWP forecasts at the same rainfall threshold yields a mask.The UNet Mask blends the UNet output and the NWP forecasts by taking the maximum between them and passing through the mask,which provides the corrected 6-hour rainfall forecasts.We evaluated UNet Mask on a test set and in real-time verification.The results showed that UNet Mask outperforms the NWP model in 6-hour precipitation prediction by reducing the FAR and improving CSI scores.Sensitivity tests also showed that different small rainfall thresholds applied to the UNet and the NWP model have different effects on UNet Mask's forecast performance.This study shows that UNet Mask is a promising approach for improving rainfall forecasting of NWP models.

A Numerical Research on the Influences of the Diurnal Variation of Solar Radiation on the Medium-Range Weather Processes

In this paper, we use a spectral model for the medium-range numerical weather forecast to discuss the impact of the diurnal variation of solar radiation on the medium-range weather processes. Under the tests of two typical winter and summer cases, we find that the influences of the diurnal variation of solar radiation on summer weather are really important, especially on its rainfall, surface heat transport and 500 hPa height field. On winter weather, however, the influences are very weak.

Probability Forecast of Regional Landslide Based on Numerical Weather Forecast

The regional forecast of landslide is one of the key points of hazard mitigation. It is also a hot and difficult point in research field. To solve this problem has become urgent task along with Chinese economy fast development. This paper analyzes the principle of regional landslide forecast and the factors for forecasting. The method of a combination of Information Value Model and Extension Model has been put forward to be as the forecast model. Using new result of Numerical Weather Foreeast Research and that combination model, we discuss the implementation feasibility of regional landslide forecast. Finally, with the help of Geographic Information System, an operation system for southwest of China landslide forecast has been developed. It can carry out regional landslide forecast daily and has been pilot run in NMC. Since this is the first time linking theoretical research with meteorological service, further works are needed to enhance it.

Sensitivity of Medium-Range Weather Forecasts to the Use of Reference Atmosphere

In this paper, the authors develop the earlier work of Chen Jiabin et al. (1986). In order to reduce spectral truncation errors, the reference atmosphere has been introduced in ECMWF model, and the spectrally-represented variables, temperature, geopotential height and orography, are replaced by their deviations from the reference atmosphere. Two modified semi- implicit schemes have been proposed to alleviate the computational instability due to the introduction of reference atmosphere. Concerning the deviation of surface geopotential height from reference atmosphere, an exact computational formulation has been used instead of the approximate one in the earlier work. To re duce aliasing errors in the computations of the deviation of the surface geopotential height, a spectral fit has been used slightly to modify the original Gaussian grid-point values of orography.A series of experiments has been performed in order to assess the impact of the reference atmosphere on ECMWF medium- range forecasts at the resolution T21, T42 and T63. The results we have obtained reveal that the reference atmosphere introduced in ECMWF spectral model is generally beneficial to the mean statistical scores of 1000-200 hPa height 10-day forecasts over the globe. In the Southern Hemisphere, it is a clear improvement for T21, T42 and T63 throughout the 10-day forecast period. In the Northern Hemisphere, the impact of the reference atmos phere on anomaly correlation is positive for resolution T21, a very slightly damaging at T42 and almost neutral at T63 in the range of day 1 to day 4. Beyond the day 4 there is a clear improvement at all resolutions.

A stamp based exploration framework for numerical weather forecast

Numerical weather simulation data usually comprises various meteorological variables, such as precipitation, temperature and pressure. In practical applications, data generated with several different numerical simulation models are usually used together by forecasters to generate the final forecast. However, it is difficult for forecasters to obtain a clear view of all the data due to its complexity. This has been a great limitation for domain experts to take advantage of all the data in their routine work. In order to help explore the multi-variate and multi-model data, we propose a stamp based exploration framework to assist domain experts in analyzing the data. The framework is used to assist domain experts in detecting the bias patterns between numerical simulation data and observation data. The exploration pipeline originates from a single meteorological variable and extends to multiple variables under the guidance of a designed stamp board. Regional data patterns can be detected by analyzing distinctive stamps on the board or generating extending stamps using the Boolean set operations. Experiment results show that some meteorological phenomena and regional data patterns can be easily detected through the exploration. These can help domain experts conduct the data analysis efficiently and further guide forecasters in producing reliable weather forecast.

How much Numerical Products Affect Weather Forecasting

The paper shows how much improvement can be achieved in weather forecasting by using NWP products. And for weather element forecasts, the types and number of NWP products highly impact on the quality of MOS forecasts and other utilities.

Analysis of a Cold Wave Process in Jiujiang and Its Numerical Model Forecast

The cold wave weather process in Jiujiang in the early spring of February 2020 was analyzed.The results show that the establishment of blocking high near Lake Baikal and the rapid southward of cold air after accumulation resulted in the cold wave weather accompanied by strong cooling,hale and rain(snow)weather in Jiujiang.Before the cold wave broke out,the ground warmed up significantly,which was also one of thermal conditions for this cold wave weather.Water vapor conditions were abundant at middle and low levels;at 850 hPa,temperature dropped by 12-14℃during February 14-15,and-4℃isotherm appeared in the southern part of central Jiangxi,which is a favorable condition for rain(snow)in most areas of Jiujiang.

Development and assessment of artificial neural network models for direct normal solar irradiance forecasting using operational numerical weather prediction data

Accurate operational solar irradiance forecasts are crucial for better decision making by solar energy system operators due to the variability of resource and energy demand.Although numerical weather prediction(NWP)models can forecast solar radiation variables,they often have significant errors,particularly in the direct normal irradiance(DNI),which is especially affected by the type and concentration of aerosols and clouds.This paper presents a method based on artificial neural networks(ANN)for generating operational DNI forecasts using weather and aerosol forecasts from the European Center for Medium-range Weather Forecasts(ECMWF)and the Copernicus Atmospheric Monitoring Service(CAMS),respectively.Two ANN models were designed:one uses as input the predicted weather and aerosol variables for a given instant,while the other uses a period of the improved DNI forecasts before the forecasted instant.The models were developed using observations for the location of´Evora,Portugal,resulting in 10 min DNI forecasts that for day 1 of forecast horizon showed an improvement over the downscaled original forecasts regarding R2,MAE and RMSE of 0.0646,21.1 W/m^(2)and 27.9 W/m^(2),respectively.The model was also evaluated for different timesteps and locations in southern Portugal,providing good agreement with experimental data.

NUMERICAL EXPERIMENTS FOR THE EFFECTS OF TWO MODEL INITIALIZATION SCHEMES ON RAINFALL FORECAST IN THE 2008 FLOODING SEASON

In this paper, based on heavy rain numerical forecast model AREM(Advanced Regional Eta Model), two different initialization schemes, LAPS and GRAPES-3DVAR, are used to run assimilation experiments of AREM-LAPS and AREM-3DVAR with the same data source(NCEP forecast field, surface data and radio-soundings) during the period from 21 May to 30 July 2008 to investigate the effect of the two initialization schemes on the rainfall simulation. The result suggests that:(1) the forecast TS score by the AREM-LAPS is higher than that by the AREM-3DVAR for rainfall in different areas, at different valid time and with different intensity, especially for the heavy rain, rainstorm and extremely heavy rain;(2) the AREM-3DVAR can generally simulate the average rainfall distribution, but the forecast area is smaller and rainfall intensity is weaker than the observation, while the AREM-LAPS significantly improves the forecast;(3) the AREM-LAPS gives a better forecast for the south-north shift of rainfall bands and the rainfall intensity variation than the AREM-3DVAR;(4) the AREM-LAPS can give a better reproduction for the daily change in the mean-rainfall-rate of the main rain band, and rainfall intensity changes in the eastern part of Southwest China, the coastal area in South China, the middle-lower valleys of Yangtze river, the Valleys of Huaihe river, and Shandong peninsula, with the rainfall intensity roughly close to the observation, while the rainfall intensity simulated by the AREM-3DVAR is clearly weaker than the observation, especially in the eastern part of Southwest China; and(5) the comparison verification between the AREM-LAPS and AREM-3DVAR for more than 10 typical rainfall processes in the summer of 2008 indicates that the AREM-LAPS gives a much better forecast than AREM-3DVAR in rain-band area, rainfall location and intensity, and in particular, the rainfall intensity forecast is improved obviously.

Assimilation of Ocean Surface Wind Data by the HY-2B Satellite in GRAPES: Impacts on Analyses and Forecasts

The ocean surface wind(OSW)data retrieved from microwave scatterometers have high spatial accuracy and represent the only wind data assimilated by global numerical models on the ocean surface,thus playing an important role in improving the forecast skills of global medium-range weather prediction models.To improve the forecast skills of the Global/Regional Assimilation and Prediction System Global Forecast System(GRAPES_GFS),the HY-2B OSW data is assimilated into the GRAPES_GFS four-dimensional variational assimilation(4DVAR)system.Then,the impacts of the HY-2B OSW data assimilation on the analyses and forecasts of GRAPES_GFS are analyzed based on one-month assimilation cycle experiments.The results show that after assimilating the HY-2B OSW data,the analysis errors of the wind fields in the lower-middle troposphere(1000-600 hPa)of the tropics and the southern hemisphere(SH)are significantly reduced by an average rate of about 5%.The impacts of the HY-2B OSW data assimilation on the analysis fields of wind,geopotential height,and temperature are not solely limited to the boundary layer but also extend throughout the entire troposphere after about two days of cycling assimilation.Furthermore,assimilating the HY-2B OSW data can significantly improve the forecast skill of wind,geopotential height,and temperature in the troposphere of the tropics and SH.

数值预报AI气象大模型国际发展动态研究

数值预报是研究地球系统的重要工具,有助于加深科学家对大气、海洋、气候和环境等复杂系统之间相互作用和变化过程的理解,在防灾减灾、气候变化和环境治理等方面发挥着不可或缺的作用。随着模式复杂度和分辨率的提高,传统数值模式在气候变化研究和气候预测方面取得了迅速的进展,但也面临一些挑战,需要得到数据同化、集合耦合、高性能计算和不确定性分析等多方面的支持。而近年来,“AI+气象”的交叉研究在气象领域引起了广泛关注。基于多种深度学习架构的人工智能大模型,依托强大的计算资源和海量的数据进行训练,能够以新的科学范式进行高效数值预报。气象大模型不断涌现,一些科技公司如华为、英伟达、DeepMind、谷歌、微软等,以及国内外高校如清华大学、复旦大学、密歇根大学、莱斯大学等发布了多个涵盖临近预报、短时预报、中期预报和延伸期预报等不同领域的气象大模型。这标志着人工智能与气象领域的交叉融合已经达到新的高度。尽管气象大模型在现阶段取得了较大突破,但其发展仍然面临弱可解释性、泛化能力不足、极端事件预报强度偏低、智能预报结果过平滑、深度学习框架能力需要拓展等诸多挑战。

降雨监测与预报技术在防洪减灾中的应用进展

洪水灾害突发性强,成灾速度快,对人民生命和财产安全造成较大的威胁。降雨作为洪水灾害致灾因子,数据的精确度对防洪减灾具有重要意义。以降雨监测与预报技术为切入点,对雨量站点观测、天气雷达降雨估计及预报、降雨数值预报、卫星遥感反演的现状进行了总结,通过分析时空降尺度方法及多源数据融合技术在降雨监测与预报中的应用,揭示了其在提升降雨数据“量”与“型”准确度方面的效果。研究表明:降雨监测与预报技术在当前取得了显著进展,但在山丘区和城市环境空间的复杂地形方面仍面临分辨率受到限制及精确性、时效性不足的问题。多源数据融合能提高降雨数据精度、时空覆盖能力和预测准确性,优化算法模型、融合“空-天-地”多源数据形成高分辨率预报是未来的研究方向。

THE MEDIUM-RANGE NUMERICAL WEATHER PREDICTION OPERATION SYSTEM IN THE CHINA NATIONAL METEOROLOGICAL CENTER

It is not only meteorological problems for the medium-range numerical weather prediction (NWP) research to be in operation,but also engineering and technological problems.Here we gener- ally described the results of research,engineering construction,operation information and testing,in the course of set-up of medium-range NWP operation system in the China National Meteorological Center.

两种再分析资料和Nudging方法在WRF模式降水模拟中的适用性

采用Grid Nudging(GN)和Spectral Nudging(SN)方法,用再分析资料ERA5和FNL驱动中尺度数值天气预报模式(WRF),探究不同再分析资料和Nudging方法对降水模拟效果的改进效果及机理.对2021年3月15日中国南方地区降水过程设计6组试验进行数值模拟,分析不同试验方案对降水及相关物理量的影响.结果表明,WRF模式能较好地模拟出本次降水事件,进行Nudging驱动后显著提升了降水分布、降水中心落区和降水量的模拟效果.与观测数据综合对比,GN的模拟效果优于SN,尤其是使用ERA5资料结合GN模拟效果最佳,能够准确地模拟出发生在安徽省南部的降水中心以及超过33 mm/d的降水强度.模式结果与两个观测站点记录的降水发生时间和降水强度变化较为一致.GN方法使模式有效提高了西南低空急流的强度,校正了风向,对水汽通量和水汽通量散度的刻画更符合实际情况.

大型浅水湖泊高时空分辨率风场特征数值模拟研究:以巢湖为例

【目的】大型浅水湖泊的风场是影响湖泊流场、水体富营养化和藻华运移聚集规律的关键因素之一,仅依托气象站点的观测数据难以有效捕捉湖面风场在空间和时间上的快速变化。为精细刻画湖泊高频变化风场,辨识其时空变化特征,【方法】以巢湖为研究对象,综合利用气象观测数据、全球再分析数据集和地理静态数据,通过中尺度天气预报模式和地理空间分析技术,模拟分析巢湖地区2019年高时空分辨率的风场变化过程。【结果】结果显示:巢湖区域风速由东向西、由南向北、由湖面向陆面逐渐减弱;湖面主导风向为东风和偏东风,主导风速为二级至四级,湖面平均风速在11月最大,12月次之,5月最小,不同季节湖面平均风速由大到小依次为冬季、秋季、夏季和春季。【结论】结果表明:巢湖在白天(夜晚)出现冷(暖)湖效应,其风场在早上6时和夜晚23时出现陆风和湖风转换;西半湖受湖陆风和城市热岛影响显著,在夏季会出现明显的环湖湖风锋,其湖风锋穿透内陆距离约4.7~9 km;东半湖受山谷风影响显著,在东南部山脉以东湖区易形成低风速区,在湖口附近受狭管效应易形成高风速区。通过研究成果可进一步认知巢湖区域风场特征,为巢湖水生态环境治理提供技术支撑。

基于主客观环流分型的强降水数值预报MODE检验方法及其在2019年暖季东北地区的应用

本文构建了基于主客观环流分型的强降水数值预报空间检验(MODE)方法框架,并利用该框架对欧洲中期天气预报中心全球模式(ECMWF)和中国气象局区域中尺度数值天气预报模式(CMA_MESO)的2019年暖季东北地区强降水预报进行检验。结果表明,2019年暖季东北地区54个强降水日的环流型可分为:西风槽型(15个)、副热带高压影响型(13个)、急流型(5个)、西部(12个)和东部冷涡型(9个)。其中,西风槽型和急流型以区域性强降水为主,模式对其强降水发生与否的预报能力强,TS评分较高;西部、东部冷涡型强降水的局地性强,模式对其强降水发生与否的预报能力差,TS评分低;副热带高压影响型也以区域性强降水为主,模式对其强降水发生与否的预报能力也比较强,但是对其强降水质心位置、强度、面积等属性预报偏差较大,TS评分也相对较低。另外,从两种模式预报性能对比看,CMA_MESO强降水强度和面积预报较实况普遍偏强,虽然其预报的TS评分一般高于ECMWF,但其对强降水预报的空报率也都比ECMWF大,对强降水的属性预报偏差一致性一般也低于ECMWF,其预报的可订正性整体上不及ECMWF。

Influence of vapor pressure deficit on vegetation growth in China

Vapor pressure deficit(VPD)plays a crucial role in determining plant physiological functions and exerts a substantial influence on vegetation,second only to carbon dioxide(CO_(2)).As a robust indicator of atmospheric water demand,VPD has implications for global water resources,and its significance extends to the structure and functioning of ecosystems.However,the influence of VPD on vegetation growth under climate change remains unclear in China.This study employed empirical equations to estimate the VPD in China from 2000 to 2020 based on meteorological reanalysis data of the Climatic Research Unit(CRU)Time-Series version 4.06(TS4.06)and European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts(ECMWF)Reanalysis 5(ERA-5).Vegetation growth status was characterized using three vegetation indices,namely gross primary productivity(GPP),leaf area index(LAI),and near-infrared reflectance of vegetation(NIRv).The spatiotemporal dynamics of VPD and vegetation indices were analyzed using the Theil-Sen median trend analysis and Mann-Kendall test.Furthermore,the influence of VPD on vegetation growth and its relative contribution were assessed using a multiple linear regression model.The results indicated an overall negative correlation between VPD and vegetation indices.Three VPD intervals for the correlations between VPD and vegetation indices were identified:a significant positive correlation at VPD below 4.820 hPa,a significant negative correlation at VPD within 4.820–9.000 hPa,and a notable weakening of negative correlation at VPD above 9.000 hPa.VPD exhibited a pronounced negative impact on vegetation growth,surpassing those of temperature,precipitation,and solar radiation in absolute magnitude.CO_(2) contributed most positively to vegetation growth,with VPD offsetting approximately 30.00%of the positive effect of CO_(2).As the rise of VPD decelerated,its relative contribution to vegetation growth diminished.Additionally,the intensification of spatial variations in temperature and precipitation accentuated the spatial heterogeneity in the impact of VPD on vegetation growth in China.This research provides a theoretical foundation for addressing climate change in China,especially regarding the challenges posed by increasing VPD.

基于网格型数值天气预报的风电集群日前功率预测方法

风电集群日前功率预测是省级及以上电网调控中心制定发电计划、促进风电消纳的重要基础之一。风电日前功率预测(次日0时至24时)本质上是构建数值天气预报与实际功率之间的映射模型。充分挖掘数值天气预报气象信息与功率之间的深层映射关系是提升风电功率预测精度的重要途径。利用网格型的数值天气预报并采用残差网络建立风电集群预测模型,挖掘风电集群所属空间三维网格型的气象分布与功率的关联关系。以实际运行数据进行仿真,结果显示所提方法在先进性和适应性两个方面均优于现有成熟方法。

基于网格化数值天气预报的区域光伏发电多输出功率预测方法

区域光伏的短期功率预测是省级及以上电网调控中心制定发电计划、提高光伏消纳率的重要基础之一。光伏短期功率预测本质上是构建数值天气预报与实际功率之间的映射模型,为了实现预测精度的提升,利用网格化的数值天气预报,采用残差网络建立区域光伏的多输出预测模型,充分挖掘区域光伏所属空间的气象资源分布与各光伏电站功率的关联关系,实现以网格化数值天气预报为输入的区域各光伏电站的功率预测。以实际运行数据进行仿真,结果表明,本文方法在各光伏电站的功率和总功率2个方面的预测结果均优于现有成熟方法。