The Added-Value from Configurable Reflectarray for Electronic Wideband Scanning Radiometry (CREWSR) for Hurricane Ian (2022) Forecast

The Configurable Reflectarray for Electronic Wideband Scanning Radiometry (CREWSR) is a future microwave imaging and sounding sensor that offers low-power, low-mass, low-cost, high-performance, and compatibility with ESPA-class small satellite systems. CREWSR is designed to provide higher quality microwave sounding radiance measurements particularly in areas where enhanced data quality is needed. It introduces features that are not available from existing microwave sounders, including configurable density, configurable spatial resolution, and configurable multiple angular looks. This work aims to assess the added-value from CREWSR through a hybrid OSSE study. The CREWSR radiances are simulated using data from the ECMWF Reanalysis v5 (ERA5). The Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder (ATMS) is used as a proxy for CREWSR with higher density, higher spatial resolution, and multiple angular looks in regions with substantial radiance gradients. The hybrid OSSE approach is chosen for its realism, as all measurements are real except for CREWSR. This study focuses on the Hurricane Ian (2022) as the case study to illustrate the impacts of assimilating the CREWSR data. Two experiments are conducted: the control run with the assimilation of all existing measurements, and the experiment run with the assimilation of the simulated CREWSR radiances in addition to the all existing measurements. The forecasts from both experiments, focusing on the hurricane track, minimum sea level pressure, and maximum wind speed, are compared and evaluated. Additionally, assessments will be made on the atmospheric temperature, moisture and precipitation forecasts are also evaluated with the assimilation quantify the impact of CREWSR measurements.