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Impact of single-point GPS integrated water vapor estimates on short-range WRF model forecasts over southern India

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Abstract

Specifying physically consistent and accurate initial conditions is one of the major challenges of numerical weather prediction (NWP) models. In this study, ground-based global positioning system (GPS) integrated water vapor (IWV) measurements available from the International Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) Service (IGS) station in Bangalore, India, are used to assess the impact of GPS data on NWP model forecasts over southern India. Two experiments are performed with and without assimilation of GPS-retrieved IWV observations during the Indian winter monsoon period (November–December, 2012) using a four-dimensional variational (4D-Var) data assimilation method. Assimilation of GPS data improved the model IWV analysis as well as the subsequent forecasts. There is a positive impact of ∼10 % over Bangalore and nearby regions. The Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model-predicted 24-h surface temperature forecasts have also improved when compared with observations. Small but significant improvements were found in the rainfall forecasts compared to control experiments.

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Acknowledgments

Authors are thankful to the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) for the use of WRF model. The global model analysis available from National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) is acknowledged with sincere thanks. The Bangalore GPS data available from International GNSS Service is gratefully acknowledged.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Geophysical Parameter Retrieval Division, Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences Group, Earth, Ocean, Atmosphere, Planetary Sciences and Applications Area, Space Applications Centre (ISRO), Ahmedabad, 380015, India

    Prashant Kumar, Kaushik Gopalan, Bipasha Paul Shukla & Abhineet Shyam

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  1. Prashant Kumar
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  2. Kaushik Gopalan
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  3. Bipasha Paul Shukla
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  4. Abhineet Shyam
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Correspondence to Kaushik Gopalan.

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Kumar, P., Gopalan, K., Shukla, B.P. et al. Impact of single-point GPS integrated water vapor estimates on short-range WRF model forecasts over southern India. Theor Appl Climatol 130, 755–760 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00704-016-1894-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00704-016-1894-7

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