Data Assimilation Testbed Center (DATC)

The Data Assimilation Testbed Center (DATC) was established within RAL's Joint Numerical Testbed in August 2006 to provide an environment for the objective testing and evaluation of state-of-the-art data assimilation techniques, as applied in real-world numerical weather prediction applications. The DATC is also intended to complement the activities of the Developmental Testbed Center (DTC) by providing the support, testing and evaluation of the data assimilation component of WRF. Because the DATC program has just been launched, there are no FY06 accomplishments to report. Funding for the DATC is provided by the Air Force Weather Agency's (AFWA) Data Assimilation Program, which is a collaborative effort between NCAR’s Earth System Science Laboratory (ESSL) and RAL.

FY07 Plans:

The initial focus of DATC efforts will be testing and evaluation of WRF-Var in AFWA applications. AFWA's focus on high-resolution, globally applicable NWP requires a tailored set of tests, which should be assessed in terms of AFWA metrics and using AFWA data and domains. Experiments to be carried out in 2007 will focus on AFWA’s South West Asia 15km WRF application, and will include:

  • Archiving observations to be used in retrospective, extended-period testing.
  • Developing scripts to create an “AFWA-like” configuration for extensive testing of WRF.
  • Testing the impact of tuned forecast error covariances in WRF-Var, including those derived from an Ensemble Transform Kalman Filter (ETKF).
  • Intercomparing WRF 3D-Var techniques, i.e. WRF-Var, and NCEP’s Gridpoint Statistical Interpolation (GSI).
  • Testing the impact of selected observations, including AMSU-A, AMSU-B, and AIRS (clear sky) satellite radiances, and COSMIC refractivity data.
  • Evaluating the nascent WRF grid-nudging capability.

A number of new applications for potential DATC involvement are currently under investigation. These include involvement in extended testing of the Antarctic Mesoscale Prediction System; testing of hybrid variational/nudging and variational/ensemble data assimilation systems; and testing of RAL’s nowcasting system, in combination with MMM’s WRF-Var data assimilation system, in Korean applications.

Staff

  • DEMIRTAS, Meral: | ASSOC SCIENTIST III | ph: 8947 | email: demirtas
  • HUANG, Xiang-Yu: | DATC DIRECTOR | ph: 8975 | email: huangx
  • PATTANAYAK, Sujata: | VISITOR | ph: 2860 | email: sujata
  • RATNA, Kopparthi Naga: | VISITOR | ph: 8978 | email: koppart
  • SHAO, Hui: | PROJ SCIENTIST I | ph: 2702 | email: huishao