JCSDA-HFIP Workshop on Satellite Data Assimilation for Hurricane Forecasting
December 2-3, 2010

HurricaneIgor2010.jpg
HFIP 2010 Workshop Group Photo

HFIP 2010 Workshop Group Photo

Multimedia Files from Greg Tripoli's presentation - can be played in Quicktime

Thursday & Friday, December 2nd & 3rd, 2010

Thursday, December 2 - Workshop Day One

8:00 - 8:30 a.m. Continental breakfast, registration
8:30 - 8:50 a.m. Welcome and opening remarks, Bob Atlas, Lars Peter Riishojgaard, Fred Toepfer
8:50 - 12:00 noon Session 1 - Current Models and Data Assimilation Systems used for Hurricane Prediction, Chair: Pat Phoebus
8:50 - 9:10 a.m. NCEP Data Assimilation Systems Status and Plans, John Derber, NCEP/EMC
9:10 - 9:40 a.m. Navy Global 4DVAR for NOGAPS, Jim Goerss, NRL
9:40 - 10:00 a.m. Coffee break
10:00 - 10:15 a.m. Overview of the Operational HWRF Modeling System, Vijay Tallapragada, NCEP/EMC
10:15 - 10:30 a.m. HWRF Data Assimilation, Mingjing Tong, NCEP/EMC
10:30 - 10:50 a.m. GFDL model GFDL (presentation given remotely), Morris Bender, GFDL
10:50 - 11:10 a.m. COAMPS-TC: Coupled Mesoscale Prediction of TCs, Eric Hendricks, NRL
11:10 - 11:30 a.m. Users Perspective on NWP for Hurricane Prediction, Jack Beven, NHC
11:30 - 12:00 noon Session wrap-up; discussion
11:50 - 3:20 p.m. Session 2 - Satellite Data used for NWP in Support of Hurricane Prediction, Chair: Sid Boukabara
11:50 - 12:10 p.m. Hyperspectral IR sounders, Bill Smith, LaRC
12:10 - 12:30 p.m. Scatterometers, Ad Stoffelen, KNMI
12:30 - 1:30 p.m. Lunch break
1:30 - 1:50 p.m. Satellite Winds, Howard Berger and Chris Velden, University of Wisconsin
1:50 - 2:10 p.m. Microwave sounders, Fuzhong Weng, NESDIS/STAR
2:10 - 2:30 p.m. Space-based precipitation measurements, Arthur Hou, GSFC
2:30 - 2:50 p.m. Current limitations of satellite data for hurricane prediction; lessons from Nargis and other storms, Oreste Reale, GSFC
2:50 - 3:20 p.m. Discussion; session wrap-up
3:20 - 3:40 p.m. Coffee break
3:40 - 5:20 p.m. Session 3 - Future Directions, Chair: Bob Atlas
3:40 - 4:00 p.m. Lightning mapper, Steve Goodman, NOAA/NESDIS
4:00 - 4:20 p.m. GPSRO, Hui Liu, NCAR
4:20 - 4:40 p.m. Ensemble data, Jeff Anderson, NCAR
4:40 - 5:00 p.m. Role of data in hurricane predictability, Greg Tripoli, University of Wisconsin
5:00 - 5:20 p.m. From vortex initialization to assimilation, Sharan Majumdar, Univ. of Miami
5:20 p.m. Adjourn for the day

Friday, December 3 - Workshop Day 2 - Session 3 (continued)

8:10 - 8:40 a.m. Continental breakfast
8:40 - 9:00 a.m. Assimilation of satellite cloud and precipitation observations in regional scale systems, Tomislava Vukicevic, AOML
9:00 - 9:20 a.m. Models and data assimilation systems of the future, Jeff Whitaker, NOAA/ESRL
9:20 - 9:40 a.m. Satellite data assimilation for meso-scale models, Hans Huang, NCAR
9:40 - 10:10 a.m. Discussion; session wrap-up
10:10 - 10:45 a.m. Coffee break - Working session; Recommendations, Chairs: Lars Peter Riishojgaard, Jim Yoe
10:45 - 11:00 a.m. Formation and Tasking of Working Groups
11:00 - 12:30 p.m. Working Group Discussions
12:30 - 1:30 p.m. Lunch break
1:30 - 2:30 p.m. Working Group Discussions (continued)
2:30 - 3:00 p.m. Plenary; presentations of Working Group recommendations
3:00 - 4:00 p.m. Final plenary discussion
4:00 p.m. Workshop adjourns

Introduction and Purpose

The primary goals of NOAA’s Hurricane Forecast Improvement Project are "to improve the accuracy and reliability of hurricane forecasts; to extend lead time for hurricane forecasts with increased certainty; and to increase confidence in hurricane forecasts".

The Joint Center for Satellite Data Assimilation has as its primary objective to increase and improve the utilization of satellite data and related research in operational environmental assimilation and prediction applications. Helping to improve the overall quality of US Numerical Weather Prediction has been singled out as the primary short- term goal of JCSDA. This is aligned with the primary goals of HFIP since improvements in hurricane track and intensity forecasts are among the most important results of progress in NWP from a societal benefits point of view.

In order to review the current status of satellite data assimilation specifically in the context of hurricane prediction, JCSDA and HFIP will host a workshop at the Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML) facility on Virginia Key in Miami on Dec 2- 3, 2010. The Workshop will be tasked with generating a written record of the review, and one of the outcomes will be a set of recommendations to HFIP on future research and development directions specifically concerning the use of satellite data.

Format

The Workshop format will include sessions structured along the following general topics: (i) Data assimilation systems currently used for hurricane prediction, (ii) Satellite data currently used for hurricane prediction, and (iii) Identification of current shortfalls and strategies and directions for closing them. Each session will feature invited presentations and ample time for discussion will be included. A fourth session will consist of working group discussions aimed at developing recommendations for future satellite data assimilation activities in support of hurricane forecasting. These will be included in the Final Report from the Workshop compiled by the Organizing Committee.

Organizing committee:

Participation and Registration:

The workshop is aimed at representatives from both research and operational organizations within the satellite data, numerical weather prediction and hurricane forecast communities.

Participation in the Workshop is by invitation only. Interested individuals can request an invitation by contacting one of the members of the Organizing Committee listed above. It will be possible for a limited number of non-attendees to follow the presentations remotely. Please contact Gladys.Medina@noaa.gov for information on how to gain access to GoTo Meeting.

Venue and Logistics

The meeting will be held at the AOML facility on Virginia Key in Miami, FL (note that in case of larger than anticipated interest, the Workshop may be moved to an alternate, nearby venue).

There is no registration fee. A nominal daily fee will be charged to cover refreshments, coffee, lunch, etc.

A block of rooms has been reserved at the US Government rate at the JW Marriott Hotel on 1109 Brickell Avenue, Miami. For instructions on how to obtain the group rate, please contact:

Early reservations are encouraged. Once the original block of rooms has been sold out, the organizers will attempt to secure additional lodging at per diem rate. However, we have no guarantees that this will be possible.