Creating Truth Data to Quantify the Accuracy of Cloud Forecasts from Numerical Weather Prediction and Climate Models
Clouds are critical in mechanisms that impact climate sensitivity studies, air quality and solar energy forecasts, and a host of aerodrome flight and safety operations. However, cloud forecast accuracies are seldom described in performance statistics provided with most numerical weather prediction (...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2019-04-01
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| Series: | Atmosphere |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/10/4/177 |
| _version_ | 1818517860248453120 |
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| author | Keith D. Hutchison Barbara D. Iisager |
| author_facet | Keith D. Hutchison Barbara D. Iisager |
| author_sort | Keith D. Hutchison |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Clouds are critical in mechanisms that impact climate sensitivity studies, air quality and solar energy forecasts, and a host of aerodrome flight and safety operations. However, cloud forecast accuracies are seldom described in performance statistics provided with most numerical weather prediction (NWP) and climate models. A possible explanation for this apparent omission involves the difficulty in developing cloud ground truth databases for the verification of large-scale numerical simulations. Therefore, the process of developing highly accurate cloud cover fraction truth data from manually generated cloud/no-cloud analyses of multispectral satellite imagery is the focus of this article. The procedures exploit the phenomenology to maximize cloud signatures in a variety of remotely sensed satellite spectral bands in order to create accurate binary cloud/no-cloud analyses. These manual analyses become cloud cover fraction truth after being mapped to the grids of the target datasets. The process is demonstrated by examining all clouds in a NAM dataset along with a 24 h WRF cloud forecast field generated from them. Quantitative comparisons with the cloud truth data for the case study show that clouds in the NAM data are under-specified while the WRF model greatly over-predicts them. It is concluded that highly accurate cloud cover truth data are valuable for assessing cloud model input and output datasets and their creation requires the collection of satellite imagery in a minimum set of spectral bands. It is advocated that these remote sensing requirements be considered for inclusion into the designs of future environmental satellite systems. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-11T01:01:58Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a5621d54d0454b66ba6e850a0e63f3ed |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4433 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-11T01:01:58Z |
| publishDate | 2019-04-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Atmosphere |
| spelling | doaj.art-a5621d54d0454b66ba6e850a0e63f3ed2022-12-22T01:26:18ZengMDPI AGAtmosphere2073-44332019-04-0110417710.3390/atmos10040177atmos10040177Creating Truth Data to Quantify the Accuracy of Cloud Forecasts from Numerical Weather Prediction and Climate ModelsKeith D. Hutchison0Barbara D. Iisager1Center for Space Research, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78759, USACloud Systems Research, Austin, TX 78748, USAClouds are critical in mechanisms that impact climate sensitivity studies, air quality and solar energy forecasts, and a host of aerodrome flight and safety operations. However, cloud forecast accuracies are seldom described in performance statistics provided with most numerical weather prediction (NWP) and climate models. A possible explanation for this apparent omission involves the difficulty in developing cloud ground truth databases for the verification of large-scale numerical simulations. Therefore, the process of developing highly accurate cloud cover fraction truth data from manually generated cloud/no-cloud analyses of multispectral satellite imagery is the focus of this article. The procedures exploit the phenomenology to maximize cloud signatures in a variety of remotely sensed satellite spectral bands in order to create accurate binary cloud/no-cloud analyses. These manual analyses become cloud cover fraction truth after being mapped to the grids of the target datasets. The process is demonstrated by examining all clouds in a NAM dataset along with a 24 h WRF cloud forecast field generated from them. Quantitative comparisons with the cloud truth data for the case study show that clouds in the NAM data are under-specified while the WRF model greatly over-predicts them. It is concluded that highly accurate cloud cover truth data are valuable for assessing cloud model input and output datasets and their creation requires the collection of satellite imagery in a minimum set of spectral bands. It is advocated that these remote sensing requirements be considered for inclusion into the designs of future environmental satellite systems.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/10/4/177VIIRSsatellite imagerycloud truth dataNAMWRF modelforecast accuracy |
| spellingShingle | Keith D. Hutchison Barbara D. Iisager Creating Truth Data to Quantify the Accuracy of Cloud Forecasts from Numerical Weather Prediction and Climate Models Atmosphere VIIRS satellite imagery cloud truth data NAM WRF model forecast accuracy |
| title | Creating Truth Data to Quantify the Accuracy of Cloud Forecasts from Numerical Weather Prediction and Climate Models |
| title_full | Creating Truth Data to Quantify the Accuracy of Cloud Forecasts from Numerical Weather Prediction and Climate Models |
| title_fullStr | Creating Truth Data to Quantify the Accuracy of Cloud Forecasts from Numerical Weather Prediction and Climate Models |
| title_full_unstemmed | Creating Truth Data to Quantify the Accuracy of Cloud Forecasts from Numerical Weather Prediction and Climate Models |
| title_short | Creating Truth Data to Quantify the Accuracy of Cloud Forecasts from Numerical Weather Prediction and Climate Models |
| title_sort | creating truth data to quantify the accuracy of cloud forecasts from numerical weather prediction and climate models |
| topic | VIIRS satellite imagery cloud truth data NAM WRF model forecast accuracy |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/10/4/177 |
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