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Journal of Southern Hemisphere Earth Systems Science Journal of Southern Hemisphere Earth Systems Science SocietyJournal of Southern Hemisphere Earth Systems Science Society
A journal for meteorology, climate, oceanography, hydrology and space weather focused on the southern hemisphere
RESEARCH ARTICLE (Open Access)

The considerable impact of earth observations from space on numerical weather prediction

Marshall J. Le, J. Lee, J. Jung, P. Gregory and B. Roux

Australian Meteorological and Oceanographic Journal 63(4) 497 - 500
Published: 2013

Abstract

Experiments were conducted to quantify the impact of satellite data (Earth Observations from Space—EOS) on the determination of current and future atmospheric state. These experiments have examined two different time periods using two different operational forecast models. The results show that, in the southern hemisphere, the accuracy of a no-satellite data 24-hour (one day) forecast is of the same accuracy, on average, as a 96 hour (four day) with-satellite data forecast when forecasts were verified against the control (all data used) analysis. Satellite data increases the forecast duration by a factor of four for the same accuracy forecast. In the northern hemisphere, the addition of satellite data results in the forecast duration increasing typically by a factor of around 1.6. This gain in forecast skill has resulted in significant societal benefits from improved forecasts, improved warnings and more apropriate time being available to prepare for extreme weather.

https://doi.org/10.1071/ES13038

© Commonwealth of Australia represented by the Bureau of Meterology 2013. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommerical-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND).

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