Evaluation of different methods for assimilating 3-dimensional wind profiles in NWP model: A regional OSSE study

There have been increasing interests to obtain global 3-dimensional wind measurements from the future space-based sensors. This study evaluates the effectiveness of different data assimilation methods for better assimilating the atmospheric 3-dimensional wind profiles into the numerical weather prediction (NWP) model. A series of observing system simulation experiments (OSSEs) are conducted with an advanced research version of the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model and various data assimilation methods, including 3DVAR, 4DVAR and ensemble-based data assimilation. The effectiveness of each data assimilation method in assimilating the wind data is compared with different configuration (e.g., coverage, resolution etc.) of the data. The impacts of assimilation of the 3-dimensional wind data on severe weather forecasts are also examined.