Bureau of Meteorology – Data Assimilation Student Workshop

Bureau of Meteorology

Data Assimilation Student Workshop

1-2 December 2016

Prior to the Bureau of Meteorology’s forthcoming December 5-9 Annual Modelling
Workshop on Data Assimilation, a Student Workshop on Data Assimilation will be
held over 2 days.
Data assimilation for forecast initialization and state estimation represents a severe challenge
from both a theoretical and technical perspective. That said, numerical weather prediction
founded on model data synthesis, is arguably one of 20th century science’s great
achievements and one on which we are reliant on a daily basis.
The intensive 2 day program will provide participants with a broad understanding of the major
methodological approaches to data assimilation for high dimensional multi-scale geophysical
applications.
The workshop also aims to introduce advanced honours students and early PhD candidates to
the methods currently employed in data assimilation with an emphasis on the application to
initialization for both numerical weather and ocean forecasting.
The workshop will be structured around a series of lectures by leading local experts covering a
range of sub-disciplines. Interaction and dialogue between students and lecturers will be
actively encouraged.
Topics:
• The main focus of the workshop is a pedagogical presentation of the major methods of
modern data assimilation currently employed in operational forecasting centres.
Presentations will have sufficient detail such that attendees will receive a sound
grounding in the underpinning mathematics as well as some appreciation for the
difficulties faced when confronted with real world applications.
• Satellite observations are crucial for weather prediction and over recent years, new
sensors have come online, for example for ocean forecasting. A particular additional
focus of the Workshop will be on the methods for assimilation of satellite products from
the atmosphere and ocean surface.
The aforementioned topics will be discussed in detail in the Annual Modelling Workshop of
the Bureau of Meteorology the following week, to which students are encouraged to attend.

Presenters of the Student Workshop:

PRESENTERS :
Pavel Sakov(Bureau of Meteorology) : The ensemble Kalman filter
Jeff Kepert Bureau of Meteorology) : Variational data assimilation (VAR)
Peter Steinle (Bureau of Meteorology) : Ensemble VAR
John LeMarshall (Bureau of Meteorology): Assimilation of satellite data for numerical weather prediction.
Paul Sandery (Bureau of Meteorology): Assimilation of satellite data for mesoscale ocean forecasting
Shane Keating (UNSW): Stochastic data assimilation methods for satellite data
Emlyn Jones (CSIRO): Particle filters
Terry O’Kane (CSIRO): Strongly nonlinear and non-Gaussian systems
Richard Matear (CSIRO): Data assimilation methods for biogeochemical data
Benoit Legresy (CSIRO): Ocean satellite products

Note: There is no registration fee.

For further information please contact : Ms Val Jemmeson – v.jemmeson@bom.gov.au

ORGANISERS :
Terry O’Kane, CSIRO (terence.okane@csiro.au)
Peter Steinle, Bureau of Meteorology (p.steinle@bom.gov.au)