Extreme High Swell Events on the Moroccan Atlantic Coast

4.0 Case Study 1 » 4.3 Step 2: Compare the Marine Model Analyses with the Observations » 4.3.4 ECMWF 10m Wind Field and ASCAT Wind Data

We’ve combined the ECMWF 10 m wind field with the ASCAT wind data for 6 January. Let’s see how they correlate.

ECMWF 10 m Wind Speed Valid for 6 Jan 2014 0000 UTC and ASCAT Wind Data
ECMWF 10 m Wind Speed Valid for 6 Jan 2014 1200 UTC and ASCAT Wind Data

At this stage, ASCAT is measuring winds in the 40 to 50kt range for the low pressure system. These are compared to the ECMWF 10 m wind speed for 6 January at 0000 UTC. Taking the wind speed values into account, the ECMWF wind analyses at 0000 and 1200 UTC are very similar to the ASCAT wind data. The colors in the image make this clear. ASCAT and ECMWF use various colors to indicate different wind speeds. The combined image shows that the overlapping areas generally have the same color. This indicates that the ECMWF model wind 10 m analysis is accurate, and that the ASCAT data is likely to have been assimilated into this ECMWF model run.

Question

What are the benefits of assimilating ASCAT data into the ECMWF model? Choose all that apply.

ASCAT wind data are spatial data measured in real time. Since they reflect actual conditions, they improve the data going into the model and therefore improve its forecast results.

Please make a selection.