Development of cloud condensate background errors
Gong, Jiandong ; Hólm, Elías Valur
From the moment the first television pictures taken from space by the TIROS I satellite appeared on 1 April 1960, the public and meteorologists alike have been fascinated by the potential of cloud observations to help forecast the weather. For half a century these images have been employed extensively in the research and monitoring of weather phenomena such as hurricanes, as well as for predicting the weather, but meteorologists are still learning how to make full use of cloud affected observations in numerical weather forecasting. The main cloud observations used by weather forecasting centres are indirect measurements; they are in the form of top of atmosphere outgoing infrared and microwave radiances which are affected by a whole column of the atmosphere and the surface. Much progress has been made at ECMWF to improve the use of microwave radiance observations in cloudy and precipitating areas in recent years (Bauer et al., 2010; Geer et al., 2010; Geer & Bauer, 2010) and currently there is a focus on extending the use of infrared observation into cloudy areas as well. In this article we will concentrate on the development of cloud condensate background errors that are required for optimal use of cloud affected observations in data assimilation.
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