Optimizing Satellite Data Assimilation: QC and Observation Error Studies

With the evolution of advanced satellite instruments and techniques, the data assimilation community has access to a vastly new and improved observations from a variety of satellite sensors. Efficient use of these observations has proved to be critical for weather forecasts and climate studies. Many factors affect the use of satellite data in a data assimilation system. Some of these factors are associated with assimilating data over non-ocean areas with complex surface conditions and/or in low level moisture-rich areas.

This paper describes an ongoing effort at the Joint Center for Satellite Data Assimilation (JCSDA) to seek the solutions for improving the use of data over problematic areas. The JCSDA has examined the current operational satellite data assimilation capabilities and is working on optimizing quality control procedures and observation errors for existing operational satellite data types. This paper will report the QC and observation error work on selected data types, e.g., Microwave (MW) radiance data, and Global Navigation Satellite Systems Radio Occultation (GNSS-RO) observations. This paper will also present results from preliminary impact studies.