The 11th JCSDA workshop on satellite data assimilation
College Park, md - june 5-7, 2013

About 70 scientists from the Joint Center and its academic and private sector partners, including principal investigators, program managers and JCSDA management/staff, participated in the 11th Annual JCSDA Workshop on Satellite Data Assimilation, June 5-7, 2013, at NOAA's Center for Weather and Climate Prediction on the research campus of the University of Maryland in College Park.

The Workshop was opened by greetings from representatives of the JCSDA's Management Oversight Board. Simon Chang, Naval Research Laboratory, pointed out that there is much work to be done, no one agency can do it, and the Joint Center was needed to facilitate progress. Colonel Daniel Edwards, USAF, highlighted the DoD's analysis of alternatives for a follow-on to the terminating Defense Meteorological Satellite Program, and the need for the Joint Center to quantify the benefits of proposed alternatives. Bill Lapenta, NOAA/National Weather Service (NWS), expressed appreciation for the Center's contributions to improving forecast model guidance and urged investigators to focus on how their work can be integrated into operations. Stan Benjamin, NOAA/Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR), lauded the Center for its assistance in making the Gridpoint Statistical Interpolation assimilation system into a truly community model.

In the first session of the workshop, JCSDA Director Riishojgaard presented a status report and overview of the Center's activities. Major accomplishments at the JCSDA partner agencies included:

• NOAA/National Centers for Environmental Prediction's implementation of a new hybrid data assimilation system, which resulted in a significant increase in prediction accuracy, allowing the GFS to catch up with the UKMO in forecast skill

• NASA/Global Modeling and Assimilation Office's update of its observation impact software to include the effect of moist processes in the adjoint, which allows more realistic evaluations of the impact of moisture observations

• NOAA/OAR's experiments showing the positive impact of assimilating AIRS observations in the Rapid Refresh mesoscale model and its short range forecasts

• Naval Research Laboratory's improvement and syncing of its Atmospheric Variational Data Assimilation System (NAVDAS-AR) with the new Navy Global Environmental Model (NAVGEM), which replaced its NOGAPS model

• The Air Force Weather Agency's significant progress in transitioning of the Gridpoint Statistical Interpolation assimilation system to its operational mesoscale forecast models.

Focusing on topics related to the Center's scientific priority areas, the workshop's 32 oral and 22 poster papers covered: Radiative Transfer Modeling and Validation, Assimilation of Data from Advanced Sensors, Cloud and Precipitation Data Assimilation, Land Data Assimilation, Ocean Data Assimilation, Regional Data Assimilation, Observing System Simulation Experiments and Observing System Experiments (data denial studies), and Atmospheric Composition. In the final plenary, the audience, guided by the Center's Executive Team, participated in an open discussion of scientific and programmatic issues raised at the workshop.

The purpose of these annual workshops is to review the ongoing and planned scientific development sponsored by the Center, and to coordinate these efforts. The Joint Center supports scientific development work with internally directed funds as well as with external grants and contracts awarded via a competitive process open to the broader scientific community. In addition, JCSDA individual partners undertake their own research contributing to the Center's objectives.

AGENDA

Day One - Wednesday, June 5, 2013

8-9 am - Registration

9-9:30 am - Welcoming words from the JCSDA Management Oversight Board (MOB) members

9:30-10:15 - Session 1 - Overview of JCSDA Activities and Plans

JCSDA Activities Overview - 45’, Speaker: L.P. Riishojgaard - JCSDA

10:15-10:45 - Coffee Break

10:45-12:25 - Session 2 - Radiative Transfer Modeling, Co-Chairs: P. VanDelst (IMSG) and E. Mlawer (AER)

Overview of the Advances in CRTM: Applications to support JPSS Sensors Cal/Val and Assimilation Activities - 25’, Speaker: Q. Liu (CICS/NESDIS)
Line-by-Line model development in support of the JCSDA - 25’, Speaker: E. Mlawer (AER)
Optimizing Multiple Scattering Calculations in the CRTM: Update, Speaker: T. Greenwald (U of Wisconsin)
Evaluation of SSMIS Upper Atmosphere Sounding Channels for High-Altitude - 25’, Speaker: Karl Hopper (NAVY)

12:25-13:30 - Lunch Break

13:30-15:10 - Session 3 - Cloud and Precipitation Data Assimilation, Co-chairs: W. McCarty (NASA) and Min-Jeong Kim (CSU/NCEP)

Progress Towards the Assimilation of Cloud-Affected Radiances at the GMAO - 25', Speaker: W. McCarty (NASA)
Latest developments on the assimilation of cloud-affected satellite observations - 25', Speaker: T. Auligne (NCAR/AFWA)
Toward all-sky assimilation of cloud-affected satellite observations - 25’, Speaker: E. Liu (NCEP)
Toward all-sky assimilation for microwave radiances (Part2)- 25', Speaker: M. Kim (CSU/NCEP)

15:10-15:40 - Coffee Break

15:40-16:55 - Session 4 - Ocean Data Assimilation, Co-chairs: Avichal Mehra (NCEP) and E. Bayler (NESDIS)

Extending Ocean Data Assimilation - 25’, Speaker: G. Jacobs (NRL)
Experiments with Monthly Satellite Ocean Color Fields in an NCEP Operational Ocean Forecast System - 25', Speaker: E. Bayler et al. (NOAA)
Jason-3 Impact on Environmental Predication - 25’, Speaker: G. Jacobs (NRL)

Day 2 - Thursday, June 6, 2013

09:00 - 10:15 - Session 5 - Data Assimilation Systems & Tools Co-chairs: W. McCarty (NASA) and J. Martinelli (AFWA)

Enhancements of the radiance bias correction in the NCEP's data assimilation system - 25', Speaker: Y. Zhu (NCEP)
A Generalized Approach to Microwave Satellite Data Assimilation Quality Control and Preprocessing - 25', K. Garrett (RTI/NESDIS)
Early-morning-orbit Observing System Simulation Experiments (OSSEs) in the Joint Center for Satellite Data Assimilation - 25', S. Casey (U. Maryland)

10:15 - 10:45 - Coffee Break

10:45 - 12:25 - Session 6 - Regional Data Assimilation, Co-chairs: H. Lin (OAR) and M. Zupanski (CIRA/CSU)

Evaluation of radiance data assimilation impact on Rapid Refresh forecast skill for retrospective and real-time experiments - 25', Haidao Lin (OAR/ESRL)
A neal real time regional satellite data assimilation system for tropical cyclone forecast improvement - 25', Jinlong Li (CIMSS/UW)
Utility of GOES-R ABI and GLM instruments in Regional Data Assimilation for High-Impact Weather - 25', M. Zupanski (CIRA/CSU)
Storm-Scale pseudo-GLM Lightning Assimilation - 25', Ted Mansell (NOAA NSSL)

12:25 - 13:30 - Lunch Break

13:30 - 15:35 - Session 7 - Land Data Assimilation, Co-chairs: Christa Peters-Lidard (NASA/GSFC) and John Eylander (U.S. Army/ERD)

Surface moisture and temperature assimilation into the GEOS-5 land surface model - 25', C. Draper (NASA)
Development and Improvement of Land Surface Emissivity Model (LandEM) - 25', M. Chen (ERT/NESDIS)
NESDIS Land Satellite Data Products for Improving NWP Model Simulations and Enhancing Drought Monitoring - 25', X. Zhan (NESDIS)
Assimilation of Satellite Soil Moisture Blended Products from SMOPS in NCEP Global Forecast System - 25', W. Zheng (NCEP)
Land surface modeling and data assimilation - 25', X. Zeng (U. Arizona)

15:35 - 16:05 - Coffee Break

16:05 - 16:55 - Session 8 - Atmospheric Data Assimilation, Co-chairs: X. Su (NCEP) and S. Kondragunta (NESDIS)

Status of improving the use of MODIS, AVHRR, and VIIRS polar winds in the GDAS/GFS - 25', D. Santek (U. Wisconsin)
Assimilating OSCAT Surface Wind Retrievals in the NCEP Global Data Assimilation System - 25', L. Bi (RTI/NESDIS)

Day 3 - Friday, June 7, 2013

09:00 - 10:15 - Session 8 - Atmospheric Data Assimilation-Continued, Co-chairs: X. Su (NCEP) and S. Kondragunta (NESDIS)

Introducing VIIRS aerosol products for global and regional model applications - 25', S. Kondragunta (NESDIS)
Using AIRS Profile Information to Better Assimilate AIRS Radiances in GSI - 25', B. Zavodsky (NASA/MSFC)
Assimilation GOES hourly winds and Metop WV cloud top wind in NCEP data assimilation and forecast system - 25', X. Su (NCEP)

10:15 - 10:45 - Coffee Break

10:45 - 11:35 - Session 8 - Atmospheric Data Assimilation-Continued, Co-chairs: X. Su (NCEP) and S. Kondragunta (NESDIS)

Water Vapor Assimilation, Preliminary Results of Correcting for Supersaturation - 25', J. Jung (U. Wisconsin)
Water Vapor Assimilation, Preliminary Results of Correcting for Supersaturation - 25', J. Jung (U. Wisconsin)
Water Vapor Assimilation, Preliminary Results of Correcting for Supersaturation - 25', J. Jung (U. Wisconsin)
Assimilation of EOS-Aura Data in GEOS-5: Evaluation of ozone in the Upper Troposphere - Lower Stratosphere - 25', K. Wargan (NASA)

11:35 - 12:30 - Session 9 (Final Session: Open Discussion)

While the previous sessions should allow ample time for Q&As at the technical level, this session will allow open discussions between all groups from the different scientific areas and from all partners and the externally funded partners, at both scientific and programmatic levels. How to integrate the projects more into the O2R environment? How to collaborate/coordinate efforts? What is the feedback on JIBB and S4 supercomputers? Plans and recommendations will also be discussed. Co-chairs of the different sessions will be asked to take notes. A final note by the JCSDA director will also be provided (10').

12:30 - Meeting adjourns