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Gianpaolo Balsamo

Bio: Gianpaolo Balsamo is an academic researcher from European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts. The author has contributed to research in topics: Numerical weather prediction & Snow. The author has an hindex of 54, co-authored 131 publications receiving 31691 citations. Previous affiliations of Gianpaolo Balsamo include ARPA-E & Environment Canada.


Papers
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: ERA-Interim as discussed by the authors is the latest global atmospheric reanalysis produced by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), which will extend back to the early part of the twentieth century.
Abstract: ERA-Interim is the latest global atmospheric reanalysis produced by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF). The ERA-Interim project was conducted in part to prepare for a new atmospheric reanalysis to replace ERA-40, which will extend back to the early part of the twentieth century. This article describes the forecast model, data assimilation method, and input datasets used to produce ERA-Interim, and discusses the performance of the system. Special emphasis is placed on various difficulties encountered in the production of ERA-40, including the representation of the hydrological cycle, the quality of the stratospheric circulation, and the consistency in time of the reanalysed fields. We provide evidence for substantial improvements in each of these aspects. We also identify areas where further work is needed and describe opportunities and objectives for future reanalysis projects at ECMWF. Copyright © 2011 Royal Meteorological Society

22,055 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The WFDEI data set has been generated using the same methodology as the widely used WATCH Forcing Data (WFD) by making use of the ERA-Interim reanalysis data.
Abstract: The WFDEI meteorological forcing data set has been generated using the same methodology as the widely used WATCH Forcing Data (WFD) by making use of the ERA-Interim reanalysis data. We discuss the specifics of how changes in the reanalysis and processing have led to improvement over the WFD. We attribute improvements in precipitation and wind speed to the latest reanalysis basis data and improved downward shortwave fluxes to the changes in the aerosol corrections. Covering 1979–2012, the WFDEI will allow more thorough comparisons of hydrological and Earth System model outputs with hydrologically and phenologically relevant satellite products than using the WFD.

873 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, a revised land surface hydrology (H-TESSEL) is introduced in the ECMWF operational model to address shortcomings of the land surface scheme, specifically the lack of surface runoff and the choice of a global uniform soil texture.
Abstract: The Tiled ECMWF Scheme for Surface Exchanges over Land (TESSEL) is used operationally in the Integrated Forecast System (IFS) for describing the evolution of soil, vegetation, and snow over the continents at diverse spatial resolutions. A revised land surface hydrology (H-TESSEL) is introduced in the ECMWF operational model to address shortcomings of the land surface scheme, specifically the lack of surface runoff and the choice of a global uniform soil texture. New infiltration and runoff schemes are introduced with a dependency on the soil texture and standard deviation of orography. A set of experiments in stand-alone mode is used to assess the improved prediction of soil moisture at the local scale against field site observations. Comparison with basin-scale water balance (BSWB) and Global Runoff Data Centre (GRDC) datasets indicates a consistently larger dynamical range of land water mass over large continental areas and an improved prediction of river runoff, while the effect on atmospheric...

722 citations


Cited by
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TL;DR: The Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA) was undertaken by NASA's Global Modeling and Assimilation Office with two primary objectives: to place observations from NASA's Earth Observing System satellites into a climate context and to improve upon the hydrologic cycle represented in earlier generations of reanalyses as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: The Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA) was undertaken by NASA’s Global Modeling and Assimilation Office with two primary objectives: to place observations from NASA’s Earth Observing System satellites into a climate context and to improve upon the hydrologic cycle represented in earlier generations of reanalyses. Focusing on the satellite era, from 1979 to the present, MERRA has achieved its goals with significant improvements in precipitation and water vapor climatology. Here, a brief overview of the system and some aspects of its performance, including quality assessment diagnostics from innovation and residual statistics, is given.By comparing MERRA with other updated reanalyses [the interim version of the next ECMWF Re-Analysis (ERA-Interim) and the Climate Forecast System Reanalysis (CFSR)], advances made in this new generation of reanalyses, as well as remaining deficiencies, are identified. Although there is little difference between the new reanalyses i...

4,572 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: An overview of the MERRA-2 system and various performance metrics is provided, including the assimilation of aerosol observations, several improvements to the representation of the stratosphere including ozone, and improved representations of cryospheric processes.
Abstract: The Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications, version 2 (MERRA-2), is the latest atmospheric reanalysis of the modern satellite era produced by NASA’s Global Modeling and Assimilation Office (GMAO). MERRA-2 assimilates observation types not available to its predecessor, MERRA, and includes updates to the Goddard Earth Observing System (GEOS) model and analysis scheme so as to provide a viable ongoing climate analysis beyond MERRA’s terminus. While addressing known limitations of MERRA, MERRA-2 is also intended to be a development milestone for a future integrated Earth system analysis (IESA) currently under development at GMAO. This paper provides an overview of the MERRA-2 system and various performance metrics. Among the advances in MERRA-2 relevant to IESA are the assimilation of aerosol observations, several improvements to the representation of the stratosphere including ozone, and improved representations of cryospheric processes. Other improvements in the quality of M...

4,524 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The Hybrid Single Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory model (HYSPLIT) as mentioned in this paper is one of the most widely used models for atmospheric trajectory and dispersion calculations.
Abstract: The Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory model (HYSPLIT), developed by NOAA’s Air Resources Laboratory, is one of the most widely used models for atmospheric trajectory and dispersion calculations. We present the model’s historical evolution over the last 30 years from simple hand-drawn back trajectories to very sophisticated computations of transport, mixing, chemical transformation, and deposition of pollutants and hazardous materials. We highlight recent applications of the HYSPLIT modeling system, including the simulation of atmospheric tracer release experiments, radionuclides, smoke originated from wild fires, volcanic ash, mercury, and wind-blown dust.

3,875 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors provide a synthesis of past research on the role of soil moisture for the climate system, based both on modelling and observational studies, focusing on soil moisture-temperature and soil moistureprecipitation feedbacks, and their possible modifications with climate change.

3,402 citations