Editorial Type:
Article
Article Type:
Research Article

A Global Atmospheric Analysis Dataset Downscaled from the NCEP–DOE Reanalysis

Jung-Eun Kim Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, and NOAA/Earth System Research Laboratory, Boulder, Colorado, and Department of Atmospheric Sciences, Global Environment Laboratory, Yonsei University, Seoul, South Korea

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Song-You Hong Department of Atmospheric Sciences, Global Environment Laboratory, Yonsei University, Seoul, South Korea

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Print Publication:
01 Apr 2012
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-11-00534.1
Page(s):
2527–2534
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Abstract

A global atmospheric analysis dataset is constructed via a spectral nudging technique. The 6-hourly National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP)–Department of Energy (DOE) reanalysis from January 1979 to February 2011 is utilized to force large-scale information, whereas a higher-resolution structure is resolved by a global model with improved physics. The horizontal resolution of the downscaled data is about 100 km, twice that of the NCEP–DOE reanalysis.

A comparison of the 31-yr downscaled data with reanalysis data and observations reveals that the downscaled precipitation climatology is improved by correcting inherent biases in the lower-resolution reanalysis, and large-scale patterns are preserved. In addition, it is found that global downscaling is an efficient way to generate high-quality analysis data due to the use of a higher-resolution model with improved physics. The uniqueness of the obtained data lies in the fact that an undesirable decadal trend in the analysis due to a change in the amount of observations used in reanalysis is avoided. As such, a downscaled dataset may be used to investigate changes in the hydrological cycle and related mechanisms.

Corresponding author address: Song-You Hong, Department of Atmospheric Sciences, Yonsei University, Seoul 120-749, South Korea. E-mail: shong@yonsei.ac.kr

Abstract

A global atmospheric analysis dataset is constructed via a spectral nudging technique. The 6-hourly National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP)–Department of Energy (DOE) reanalysis from January 1979 to February 2011 is utilized to force large-scale information, whereas a higher-resolution structure is resolved by a global model with improved physics. The horizontal resolution of the downscaled data is about 100 km, twice that of the NCEP–DOE reanalysis.

A comparison of the 31-yr downscaled data with reanalysis data and observations reveals that the downscaled precipitation climatology is improved by correcting inherent biases in the lower-resolution reanalysis, and large-scale patterns are preserved. In addition, it is found that global downscaling is an efficient way to generate high-quality analysis data due to the use of a higher-resolution model with improved physics. The uniqueness of the obtained data lies in the fact that an undesirable decadal trend in the analysis due to a change in the amount of observations used in reanalysis is avoided. As such, a downscaled dataset may be used to investigate changes in the hydrological cycle and related mechanisms.

Corresponding author address: Song-You Hong, Department of Atmospheric Sciences, Yonsei University, Seoul 120-749, South Korea. E-mail: shong@yonsei.ac.kr
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