Empirical localization of observations for serial ensemble Kalman filter data assimilation in an atmospheric general circulation model

The empirical localization algorithm described here uses the output from an observing system simulation experiment (OSSE) and constructs localization functions that minimize the root-mean-square (RMS) difference between the truth and the posterior ensemble mean for state variables. This algorithm can automatically provide an estimate of the localization function and does not require empirical tuning of the localization scale. It can compute an appropriate localization function for any potential observation type and kind of state variable. The empirical localization algorithm is investigated in the Community Atmosphere Model, version 5 (CAM5). The empirical localization function (ELF) is computed for the horizontal and vertical separately so that the vertical localization is explored explicitly. The horizontal and vertical ELFs are also computed for different geographic regions. The ELFs varying with region have advantages over the single global ELF in the horizontal and vertical, because different localization functions are more effective in different regions. The ELFs computed from an OSSE can be used as the localization in a subsequent OSSE. After three iterations, the ELFs appear to have converged. When used as localization in an OSSE, the converged ELFs produce a significantly smaller RMS error of temperature and zonal and meridional winds than the best Gaspari-Cohn (GC) localization for a dependent verification period using the observations from the original OSSE, and a similar RMS error to the best GC for an independent verification period. The converged ELFs have a significantly smaller RMS error of surface pressure than the best GC for both dependent and independent verification periods.