Simulation of observation for Joint OSSE based on 2012 systems

An international collaborative effort for Observing System Simulation Experiments (OSSE) was developed over the last few years. Although a large initial investment is required for OSSE, using an OSSE is the most reliable strategy today to assess the quantitative impact from prospective observing systems. The first 13 month long Joint OSSE Nature Run was produced by the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) and shared with the internationally collaborative Joint OSSE community. A simulation of observations over the Nature Run period for control experiments, based on the observations available during the period, was completed by the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) and Joint Center for Satellite and Data Assimilation (JCSDA) and shared with the Joint OSSE community.

In order to conduct OSSEs with more recent observations, observations from instruments such as CrIs, ATMS, IASI, SSMIS, and Seviri; from satellites such as Metop, NOAA18 and NOAA19; and from GPSRO and other observational data available in 2012 have been simulated. The initial assessment of the simulated observations showed reasonable agreement.

These new simulated observations will be used for OSSE to assess various future instruments, various orbit configurations, and the impact of additional satellites. Currently mainly focused on evaluating the satellite system on the early-morning-orbit, which is missing from current satellite system.