Meteorological Observing Systems, 2018 

The Global Modeling and Assimilation Office (GMAO) at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center uses the Goddard Earth Observing System (GEOS) modeling and data assimilation system to produce gridded estimates of the atmospheric state by combining short-term forecasts with observations from numerous observing systems. 

The observing system has advanced substantially since the launch of TIROS-N. Both satellite and conventional observations have increased in both quality and quantity over the course of the past four decades. In 1980, the median number of observations assimilated over a six hour period was 175,000. In 2018, this number has approached 5 million. 

One of the fundamental scientific goals of the GMAO reanalysis projects is to provide the optimal estimate atmospheric state in a manner that is consistent over time. These animations illustrate how different the observing system were in 1980 compared to today. On the one hand, these animations demonstrate the critical role that NASA has played in developing the observing systems that are used in satellite measurements, including the enhancements of the spacecraft observations between 1980 and the present time. They also highlight one of the great challenges in producing consistent long-term records of the atmospheric state in MERRA-2 and other reanalyses: technological advances lead to larger numbers of higher quality observations. Even though the underlying assimilation systems remain frozen over time, the great challenge is to overcome the impacts of an ever improving suite of observations. 


For more information: svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4654 

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