Assimilation of MODIS Dark Target and Deep Blue observations in the dust aerosol component of NMMB-MONARCH version 1.0

A data assimilation capability has been built for the NMMB-MONARCH chemical weather prediction system, with a focus on mineral dust, a prominent type of aerosol. An ensemble-based Kalman filter technique (namely the local ensemble transform Kalman filter – LETKF) has been utilized to optimally combi...

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Main Authors: E. Di Tomaso, N. A. J. Schutgens, O. Jorba, C. Pérez García-Pando
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Copernicus Publications 2017-03-01
Series:Geoscientific Model Development
Online Access:http://www.geosci-model-dev.net/10/1107/2017/gmd-10-1107-2017.pdf
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author E. Di Tomaso
N. A. J. Schutgens
O. Jorba
C. Pérez García-Pando
author_facet E. Di Tomaso
N. A. J. Schutgens
O. Jorba
C. Pérez García-Pando
author_sort E. Di Tomaso
collection DOAJ
description A data assimilation capability has been built for the NMMB-MONARCH chemical weather prediction system, with a focus on mineral dust, a prominent type of aerosol. An ensemble-based Kalman filter technique (namely the local ensemble transform Kalman filter – LETKF) has been utilized to optimally combine model background and satellite retrievals. Our implementation of the ensemble is based on known uncertainties in the physical parametrizations of the dust emission scheme. Experiments showed that MODIS AOD retrievals using the Dark Target algorithm can help NMMB-MONARCH to better characterize atmospheric dust. This is particularly true for the analysis of the dust outflow in the Sahel region and over the African Atlantic coast. The assimilation of MODIS AOD retrievals based on the Deep Blue algorithm has a further positive impact in the analysis downwind from the strongest dust sources of the Sahara and in the Arabian Peninsula. An analysis-initialized forecast performs better (lower forecast error and higher correlation with observations) than a standard forecast, with the exception of underestimating dust in the long-range Atlantic transport and degradation of the temporal evolution of dust in some regions after day 1. Particularly relevant is the improved forecast over the Sahara throughout the forecast range thanks to the assimilation of Deep Blue retrievals over areas not easily covered by other observational datasets. <br><br> The present study on mineral dust is a first step towards data assimilation with a complete aerosol prediction system that includes multiple aerosol species.
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spelling doaj.art-8a19a1587425498d80595358e284f3562022-12-22T02:57:18ZengCopernicus PublicationsGeoscientific Model Development1991-959X1991-96032017-03-011031107112910.5194/gmd-10-1107-2017Assimilation of MODIS Dark Target and Deep Blue observations in the dust aerosol component of NMMB-MONARCH version 1.0E. Di Tomaso0N. A. J. Schutgens1O. Jorba2C. Pérez García-Pando3Earth Sciences Department, Barcelona Supercomputing Center, SpainAtmospheric, Oceanic and Planetary Physics, University of Oxford, UKEarth Sciences Department, Barcelona Supercomputing Center, SpainNASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, New York, USAA data assimilation capability has been built for the NMMB-MONARCH chemical weather prediction system, with a focus on mineral dust, a prominent type of aerosol. An ensemble-based Kalman filter technique (namely the local ensemble transform Kalman filter – LETKF) has been utilized to optimally combine model background and satellite retrievals. Our implementation of the ensemble is based on known uncertainties in the physical parametrizations of the dust emission scheme. Experiments showed that MODIS AOD retrievals using the Dark Target algorithm can help NMMB-MONARCH to better characterize atmospheric dust. This is particularly true for the analysis of the dust outflow in the Sahel region and over the African Atlantic coast. The assimilation of MODIS AOD retrievals based on the Deep Blue algorithm has a further positive impact in the analysis downwind from the strongest dust sources of the Sahara and in the Arabian Peninsula. An analysis-initialized forecast performs better (lower forecast error and higher correlation with observations) than a standard forecast, with the exception of underestimating dust in the long-range Atlantic transport and degradation of the temporal evolution of dust in some regions after day 1. Particularly relevant is the improved forecast over the Sahara throughout the forecast range thanks to the assimilation of Deep Blue retrievals over areas not easily covered by other observational datasets. <br><br> The present study on mineral dust is a first step towards data assimilation with a complete aerosol prediction system that includes multiple aerosol species.http://www.geosci-model-dev.net/10/1107/2017/gmd-10-1107-2017.pdf
spellingShingle E. Di Tomaso
N. A. J. Schutgens
O. Jorba
C. Pérez García-Pando
Assimilation of MODIS Dark Target and Deep Blue observations in the dust aerosol component of NMMB-MONARCH version 1.0
Geoscientific Model Development
title Assimilation of MODIS Dark Target and Deep Blue observations in the dust aerosol component of NMMB-MONARCH version 1.0
title_full Assimilation of MODIS Dark Target and Deep Blue observations in the dust aerosol component of NMMB-MONARCH version 1.0
title_fullStr Assimilation of MODIS Dark Target and Deep Blue observations in the dust aerosol component of NMMB-MONARCH version 1.0
title_full_unstemmed Assimilation of MODIS Dark Target and Deep Blue observations in the dust aerosol component of NMMB-MONARCH version 1.0
title_short Assimilation of MODIS Dark Target and Deep Blue observations in the dust aerosol component of NMMB-MONARCH version 1.0
title_sort assimilation of modis dark target and deep blue observations in the dust aerosol component of nmmb monarch version 1 0
url http://www.geosci-model-dev.net/10/1107/2017/gmd-10-1107-2017.pdf
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