C-SRNWP Programme
Yearly Report for 2012 and Financial Statement
Prepared by: Gergely Bölöni, C-SRNWP PM
Hungarian Meteorological Service
1024 Budapest, Kitaibel Pal utca 1., Hungary
For submission to: EIG EUMETNET Secretariat
Summary:
Action required: For information and comment
Distribution: Public
|
Reference |
Date |
Author(s) |
Content |
|
|
February 26, 2013 |
Gergely Bölöni |
First version |
|
|
March 7, 2013 |
Gergely Bölöni |
Second version |
1. Headlines
- Project requirements of the OPERA project have been adjusted to the needs of the short-range NWP community. First data policy arrangements for the re-distribution of volume data from Odyssey took place.
- A "test-bed" involving high-resolution IFS EPS lateral boundary conditions has been provided by ECMWF enabling the C-SRNWP members to run convective scale EPS experiments.
- Regarding the assimilation of AMDAR data, it has been clarified with SRNWP data assimilation experts that an assimilation trial with humidity sensors on aircrafts is of higher priority compared to the increase of vertical resolution of current AMDAR measurements.
- A list of EEA (European Environment Agency) databases potentially useful in NWP have been selected and included to the agreement between EUMETNET and EEA. The NWP community has proposed to take up the Global Lake Data Base (GLDB) developed within the HIRLAM consortium as an EEA product and asked whether EEA could contribute with funding to the development and maintenance of GLDB.
- Regarding the preparation for the next EUMETNET Programme phase, the C-SRNWP PM has contributed to the composition of project requirements for the C-SRNWP project and the Nowcasting Activity, and to the evaluation of KNMI's bid for the forecasting Programme Manager position.
- It is important to mention that by the end of the year no chairs for the ET Physics, Dynamics and System were available.
2. Status of programmatic targets
The main activity of the C-SRNWP programme is the scientific and technical (operational) coordination between the five LAM Consortia in Europe (ALADIN, COSMO, HIRLAM, LACE and Met Office). The coordination is ensured by the eight Expert Teams (data assimilation and use of observations; diagnostics, validation and verification; dynamics and lateral boundary coupling; link with applications; physical parameterization: upper air; predictability and EPS; surface and soil processes: model and data assimilation; system aspects) established in 2008 and through the regular correspondence, including the annual meeting, between the members of the SRNWP Advisory Expert Team Committee (previously called Advisory Committee), which consists of the consortia heads and the Expert Team chairs. During 2012 the following coordination efforts have been made.
Coordination with OPERA for enhancing radar data assimilation
SRNWP requirements regarding the OPERA project (quality indication and volume data redistribution) have been presented at the OPERA meeting (April 11). The presentation was based on the questionnaire issued in 2011 for the OPERA members and included priorities of the NWP community for the new programme phase (2013-17). The final OPERA project requirements include the task of implementing a quality indication on board of Odyssey (OD1) and the redistribution of volume data to members (OD3) with a deadline of December 2014. Efforts have been made to convince the OPERA management to start the volume data redistribution earlier (before completing OD1) on a non-operational basis allowing early data assimilation tests with volume data from Odyssey with local quality indication. Regarding data policy a step forward have been made at the November Assembly where (based on the proposal of the SRNWP Advisory Expert Team) 18 European NMSs (KNMI; FMI; DMI; SMHI; SEA; SML; EMHI; Met Eireann; IMO; Météo-France; DHMZ; RMI; DWD; OMSZ; AEMET; RHMSS; IPMA; IMGW) offered their volume data for redistribution for data assimilation purposes.
Coordination with ECMWF regarding boundary conditions for convective-scale EPS experiments
In 2011 (Data assimilation - EPS workshop, Bologna, February 23-25) an informal agreement was made between the SRNWP community and ECMWF that ECMWF runs its EPS system in higher resolution (T1279: the actual deterministic resolution) in order to provide boundary conditions for convective-scale LAM EPS experiments. In 2012 ECMWF created an "economic archive" for the T1279 EPS runs and provided one case for the C-SRNWP members for technical testing. The tests have been completed during 2012 by all the consortia interested (ALADIN, COSMO, HIRLAM, LACE) and a feedback was given to ECMWF. This has been followed by an agreement about 2 x 2 weeks test periods, which ECMWF could afford to run. The T1279 IFS EPS runs are available for testing for the SRNWP community since 9 January 2013.
Coordination between EUCOS, E-AMDAR and C-SRNWP members regarding data assimilation of aircraft data
At the 2012 E-SAT meeting (April 19-20) the EUCOS and E-AMDAR PMs asked the C-SRNWP PM whether there is an interest to assimilate AMDAR profiles in higher vertical resolution (an experimental data set already exists for 17-18 May 2011) than the presently operational data in high-resolution models. C-SRNWP prepared a reference AMDAR data set for 17-18 May by reducing the high-resolution data to the usual vertical resolution and shared this test-bed with the Data Assimilation Expert Team members asking for a feedback in the form of a simple questionnaire. No feedback was given to this request. As clarified later at the EWGLAM/SRNWP meeting (October 2012) the lack of feedback was due to the fact that the requested tests were considered time consuming for a voluntary work. The DA ET agreed that in case of EUCOS financed experiments the impact of the AMDAR resolution increase could be tested however, presently the impact of humidity sensors on aircrafts is seen as a higher priority task.
Coordination with EEA regarding datasets to be used in NWP and regarding the future of GLDB
For a bilateral agreement between EEA and EUMETNET, it has been requested in June that the C-SRNWP PM gives the list of EEA datasets, which would be beneficial to use in NWP models and, which are to be listed explicitly in the agreement documents. The C-SRNWP PM provided a preliminary list to EUMETNET Secretariat according to his judgment and asked 4 Expert Teams (Surface, Link with applications, Data assimilation, Upper-air physics) to provide their opinion on the preliminary list. No feedback was given till the EWGLAM/SRNWP meeting (October) where a feedback from the Surface ET members has been given and the preliminary list was slightly adjusted accordingly. During the SRNWP Advisory ET meeting in October it has been presented by HIRLAM PM that the future maintenance and development of the Global Lake Data Base (GLDB) has become uncertain due to the fact that ECMWF do not ensure the corresponding funding any more from 2013 onwards. The idea of asking EEA for taking GLDB as its own product with the condition of ensuring funding for its maintenance and development has been raised. This idea has been put forward to EEA but so far without answer.
Preparation for the next EUMETNET Programme phase
In the beginning of the year the C-SRNWP PM has been involved in composing the requirements for the Nowcasting Activity and for the C-SRNWP project. In the evaluation phase the C-SRNWP PM has contributed to the evaluation of KNMI's bid for the management of the Forecasting Programme. Finally, the C-SRNWP PM has been involved in composing the bid of OMSZ for the C-SRNWP project in the new programme phase.
3. Communication and cooperation
The two most important links with partners have been those with the OPERA programme for putting forward a simple data policy scheme for the redistribution of volume radar data for assimilation purposes and with ECMWF for communicating SRNWP requirements for driving high resolution short-range EPS systems by additional IFS EPS runs. Also a weak link with EEA has been established through the EUMETNET Executive Director regarding the list of EEA datasets useful for NWP and regarding the future of the GLDB maintenance and development.
Most communication with the C-SRNWP Programme members directly have been done during the EWGLAM/SRNWP meeting. This is where Programme activities and changes have been presented together with the implications of the new Programme phase (2013-17).
Expert Teams have been involved in most of the coordination issues via email. ET Data assimilation has helped the preparations for the E-SAT meeting and gave feedback on the question of vertical resolution increase in AMDAR data. The ET Surface has provided feedback on the EEA datasets and raised the issue of the GLDB. The ET EPS and especially its chair has been very active in composing the SRNWP-EPS project requirements for the new programme phase as well as in the discussion with ECMWF on the high-resolution EPS runs for convective scale EPS experimentations. The ET Link with Applications has provided a very good first guess for the Nowcasting Activity requirements for the new programme phase. The ET System has been very helpful in composing the table of NWP systems for the SRNWP website and in providing an overview of the SRNWP-I model to mode adaptors. All ETs were helpful in the organization of the thematic scientific sessions for the EWGLAM/SRNWP meeting. It is important to mention that by the end of the year no chairs for the ET Physics, Dynamics and System were available.
Many webex meetings have been held between the EUMETNET Secretariat and PMs regarding the preparations for the new programme phase.
The C-SRNWP PM participated at the following meetings:
- OPERA meeting (Vienna, 11 April)
- E-SAT meeting (Reading, 19-20 April)
- ALADIN-HIRLAM all staff meeting (Marrakesh, 5-11 May)
- COSMO meeting (Lugano, 10-13 September)
- EWGLAM/SRNWP meeting (Helsinki, 8-11 October)
- ECMWF SAC meeting (14-17 October)
4. Benefits delivery
It has been achieved that a test-bed (set of high resolution ECMWF/IFS EPS boundary conditions) is available for the C-SRNWP members for convective scale EPS experimentations. This enables the development of very high resolution EPS systems and on the long term promotes the probabilistic approach for the convective scales.
The requirements of the SRNWP community have been included to the OPERA project plans. Additionally, the data policy for volume data is being tackled and 18 countries offered their radar volume data for OPERA/C-SRNWP members for data assimilation purposes. This leads towards an easy access of radar data for assimilation purposes and will help the initialization of extreme weather phenomenon even if they are outside the actual member's country at initial time.
An expected benefit from the link with EEA is would be to ensure funding for the long term maintenance and development of the GLDB, which will become an important database both for LAM and global models (ECMWF) as the resolution is increasing.
The contribution to the E-SAT meeting and giving feedback on specific observation impacts can be identified as a benefit for the Observation Programmes.
The C-SRNWP PM has helped EUMETNET in the preparations for the next Programme phase.
5. Financial report
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
6. Risks and issues
None to report.
7. Programme change requests
None.
8. Outlook for 2013
OMSZ will continue as a coordinating member for the C-SRNWP project with the same budget. The project will consist of coordination activities and the PM will use a 0.3 FTE to accomplish his work. The current coordination tasks will be taken forward and some new will be taken up as defined by the project requirements document and OMSZ's bid.
