Ground-Space-Sky Observing System Experiment during Tropical Cyclone Mulan in August 2022

Abstract

Forecasting tropical cyclone track and intensity is a great challenge for the meteorological community, and safeguarding the life and property of people living near the coast is an important issue. One major reason for challenging forecasts is the lack of observations over the vast oceans. During tropical cyclone Mulan between 8 and 10 August 2022 over the northern part of the South China Sea, the meteorological authority and research institutes of Chinese mainland collaborated with the meteorological service in Hong Kong on conducting the first-ever ground-space-sky observing system experiment on tropical cyclone Mulan. The enhanced targeted observations collected during the experiment include Geostationary Interferometric Infrared Sounder, round-trip radiosondes, and aircraft-launched dropsondes. This paper describes the campaign, technical details of the meteorological models used, and impact of the additional targeted observation data on the tropical cyclone forecast. Ideally, similar enhanced observation campaigns could be conducted in the future, not only in the northern part of the South China Sea, but also in other ocean basins.

摘要

缺乏观测数据是台风路径和强度预报面临的一个巨大挑战。2022年8月8−10日间，中国气象局地球系统数值预报中心，联合国家卫星气象中心、国家气象中心、中国气象局大气探测中心，以及中国科学院大气物理研究所大气科学与地球流体力学数值模拟国家重点实验室、复旦大学大气海洋科学系和香港天文台等高校与科研业务单位，在我国南海上空、针对台风木兰（2022）开展了首次地空天观测系统试验。通过风云四号卫星高光谱探测仪、机载下投探空仪、和往返平飘式探空仪获得了宝贵的观测资料。文章对试验方法、试验过程及观测数据对台风实时预报的改进进行了介绍，并以此将推动相关台风观测试验在我国海域的实施。