Editorial Type:
Article
Article Type:
Research Article

Assessment of Doppler Radar Radial Wind Observation Quality from Different Echo Sources for Assimilation during the Sydney 2014 Forecast Demonstration Project

Susan Rennie Australian Bureau of Meteorology, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

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Peter Steinle Australian Bureau of Meteorology, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

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Alan Seed Australian Bureau of Meteorology, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

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Mark Curtis Australian Bureau of Meteorology, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

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Yi Xiao Australian Bureau of Meteorology, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

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Print Publication:
01 Aug 2018
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1175/JTECH-D-17-0183.1
Page(s):
1605–1620
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Abstract

A new quality control system, primarily using a naïve Bayesian classifier, has been developed to enable the assimilation of radial velocity observations from Doppler radar. The ultimate assessment of this system is the assimilation of observations in a pseudo-operational numerical weather prediction system during the Sydney 2014 Forecast Demonstration Project. A statistical analysis of the observations assimilated during this period provides an assessment of the data quality. This will influence how observations will be assimilated in the future, and what quality control and errors are applicable. This study compares observation-minus-background statistics for radial velocities from precipitation and insect echoes. The results show that with the applied level of quality control, these echo types have comparable biases. With the latest quality control, the clear air observations of wind are apparently of similar quality to those from precipitation and are therefore suitable for use in high-resolution NWP assimilation systems.

© 2018 American Meteorological Society. For information regarding reuse of this content and general copyright information, consult the AMS Copyright Policy (www.ametsoc.org/PUBSReuseLicenses).

Corresponding author: Susan Rennie, susan.rennie@bom.gov.au

Abstract

A new quality control system, primarily using a naïve Bayesian classifier, has been developed to enable the assimilation of radial velocity observations from Doppler radar. The ultimate assessment of this system is the assimilation of observations in a pseudo-operational numerical weather prediction system during the Sydney 2014 Forecast Demonstration Project. A statistical analysis of the observations assimilated during this period provides an assessment of the data quality. This will influence how observations will be assimilated in the future, and what quality control and errors are applicable. This study compares observation-minus-background statistics for radial velocities from precipitation and insect echoes. The results show that with the applied level of quality control, these echo types have comparable biases. With the latest quality control, the clear air observations of wind are apparently of similar quality to those from precipitation and are therefore suitable for use in high-resolution NWP assimilation systems.

© 2018 American Meteorological Society. For information regarding reuse of this content and general copyright information, consult the AMS Copyright Policy (www.ametsoc.org/PUBSReuseLicenses).

Corresponding author: Susan Rennie, susan.rennie@bom.gov.au
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Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology

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