Any contribution of a particular instrument to the NPOESS must be taken in the context of other measurements that provide similar or complementary information. The forecast impact of current instruments can be assessed by Observing System Experiments, in which already existing observations are denied or added to observations from a standard data base. The impact of future instruments, however, must be assessed with experiments using simulated observations. These experiments are known as Observing System Simulation Experiments (OSSEs).
Scientists at the Environmental Modeling Center (EMC) of the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP), the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), and the Naval Research Laboratory, Monterey (NRL) have proposed a series of OSSEs to provide guidance for the NPOESS instrument configuration. There will be two major benefits from this investigation: first, an instrument configuration that provides the most cost-effect satisfaction of user needs will be defined; and second, the required NWP "machinery" for data assimilation, including models for these next-generation instruments, will have been generated in the course of these OSSEs so that full usage of these data will come much sooner after launch than for previous satellite instrument suites.
Major recent advances in the theory and practice of data assimilation have necessitated a review of the OSSE methodology in order to provide a more substantial foundation for future OSSEs (Lord et al., 1996).
This project (the NPOESS OSSE Project, NOP) is now being funded by the NPOESS Integrated Program Office (IPO). The Investigators and collaborators for this project are:
Principal Investigator:
Dr. Stephen J. Lord, Deputy Director
Environmental Modeling Center
National Centers for Environmental Prediction
Prediction
National Weather Service/NOAA
Co-Investigators:
Data assimilation specialists: Remote sensing specialists
Dr. John Derber /NOAA/NCEP/EMC Mr. Mitchell Goldberg/NOAA/NESDIS/ORA
Dr. Mark Iredell /NOAA/NCEP/EMC Dr. Thomas Kleespies /NOAA/NESDIS/ORA
Dr. Eugenia Kalnay/NOAA/NCEP/EMC Dr. Robert Aune /NOAA/NESDIS/ORA
Dr. David Parrish /NOAA/NCEP/EMC Dr. Larry McMillin /NOAA/NESDIS/ORA
Dr. James Purser/NOAA/NCEP/EMC (GSC) Dr. George D. Emmitt/SWA
Dr. Wan-shu Wu /NOAA/NCEP/EMC (GSC)
Dr. Robert Atlas /NASA/GSFC/GLA/DAO
Dr. Stephen Cohn /NASA/GSFC/GLA/DAO
Dr. Arlindo da Silva /NASA/GSFC/GLA/DAO
Dr. Dick Dee /NASA/GSFC/GLA/DAO
Dr. Joanna Joiner /NASA/GSFC/GLA/DAO
Dr. Roger Daley /Navy/NRL
Dr. Ed Barker /Navy/NRL
Collaborators:
Dr. Wayman Baker /NOAA/NCEP/NCO
Dr. Anthony Hollingsworth/ECMWF
Dr. Joel Susskind /NASA/GSFC/GLA/SDUO
The Principal Investigators of the NOP believe that the user community for future polar-orbiting satellite data should be involved actively in reviewing this OSSE work, since it will play heavily in determining the NPOESS instrument configuration. An advisory panel has, therefore, been formed with the following charge:
- Don Norquist AFGL (Dept. of Defense) (Chair)
- Dr. Akira Kasahara NCAR
- Prof. T. N. Krishnamurti Florida State Univ.
- Prof. Jan Paegle Univ. of Utah
- Prof. Paul Hayes Univ. Michigan
- Greg Mandt NWS Office of Meteorology
- Dr. Tony McNally ECMWF