Editorial Type:
Article
Article Type:
Research Article

A Unification of Ensemble Square Root Kalman Filters

Lars Nerger Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, Bremerhaven, Germany

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Tijana Janjić Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, Bremerhaven, Germany

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Jens Schröter Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, Bremerhaven, Germany

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Wolfgang Hiller Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, Bremerhaven, Germany

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Print Publication:
01 Jul 2012
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1175/MWR-D-11-00102.1
Page(s):
2335–2345
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Abstract

In recent years, several ensemble-based Kalman filter algorithms have been developed that have been classified as ensemble square root Kalman filters. Parallel to this development, the singular “evolutive” interpolated Kalman (SEIK) filter has been introduced and applied in several studies. Some publications note that the SEIK filter is an ensemble Kalman filter or even an ensemble square root Kalman filter. This study examines the relation of the SEIK filter to ensemble square root filters in detail. It shows that the SEIK filter is indeed an ensemble square root Kalman filter. Furthermore, a variant of the SEIK filter, the error subspace transform Kalman filter (ESTKF), is presented that results in identical ensemble transformations to those of the ensemble transform Kalman filter (ETKF), while having a slightly lower computational cost. Numerical experiments are conducted to compare the performance of three filters (SEIK, ETKF, and ESTKF) using deterministic and random ensemble transformations. The results show better performance for the ETKF and ESTKF methods over the SEIK filter as long as this filter is not applied with a symmetric square root. The findings unify the separate developments that have been performed for the SEIK filter and the other ensemble square root Kalman filters.

Corresponding author address: Lars Nerger, Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, Am Handelshafen 12, 27570 Bremerhaven, Germany. E-mail: lars.nerger@awi.de

Abstract

In recent years, several ensemble-based Kalman filter algorithms have been developed that have been classified as ensemble square root Kalman filters. Parallel to this development, the singular “evolutive” interpolated Kalman (SEIK) filter has been introduced and applied in several studies. Some publications note that the SEIK filter is an ensemble Kalman filter or even an ensemble square root Kalman filter. This study examines the relation of the SEIK filter to ensemble square root filters in detail. It shows that the SEIK filter is indeed an ensemble square root Kalman filter. Furthermore, a variant of the SEIK filter, the error subspace transform Kalman filter (ESTKF), is presented that results in identical ensemble transformations to those of the ensemble transform Kalman filter (ETKF), while having a slightly lower computational cost. Numerical experiments are conducted to compare the performance of three filters (SEIK, ETKF, and ESTKF) using deterministic and random ensemble transformations. The results show better performance for the ETKF and ESTKF methods over the SEIK filter as long as this filter is not applied with a symmetric square root. The findings unify the separate developments that have been performed for the SEIK filter and the other ensemble square root Kalman filters.

Corresponding author address: Lars Nerger, Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, Am Handelshafen 12, 27570 Bremerhaven, Germany. E-mail: lars.nerger@awi.de
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