TY  - JOUR
A1  - Bley, Sebastian
A1  - Rennie, Michael
A1  - Žagar, Nedjeljka
A1  - Pinol Sole, Montserrat
A1  - Straume, Anne Grete
A1  - Antifaev, James
A1  - Candido, Salvatore
A1  - Carver, Robert
A1  - Fehr, Thorsten
A1  - von Bismarck, Jonas
A1  - Hünerbein, Anja
A1  - Deneke, Hartwig
T1  - Validation of the Aeolus L2B Rayleigh winds and ECMWF short‐range forecasts in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere using Loon super pressure balloon observations
Y1  - 2022-11-08
VL  - 148
IS  - 749
SP  - 3852
EP  - 3868
JF  - Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society
DO  - 10.1002/qj.4391
PB  - John Wiley & Sons
CY  - Ltd
N2  - The novel Aeolus satellite, which carries the first Doppler wind lidar providing profiles of horizontal line‐of‐sight (HLOS) winds, addresses a significant gap in direct wind observations in the global observing system. The gap is particularly critical in the tropical upper troposphere and lower stratosphere (UTLS). This article validates the Aeolus Rayleigh–clear wind product and short‐range forecasts of the European Centre for Medium‐Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) with highly accurate winds from the Loon super pressure balloon network at altitudes between 16 and 20 km. Data from 229 individual balloon flights are analysed, applying a collocation criterion of 2 hr and 200 km. The comparison of Aeolus and Loon data shows systematic and random errors of -0.31 and 6.37 m·s<sup>-1</sup>, respectively, for the Aeolus Rayleigh–clear winds. The horizontal representativeness error of Aeolus HLOS winds (nearly the zonal wind component) in the UTLS ranges from 0.6–1.1 m·s<sup>-1</sup> depending on the altitude. The comparison of Aeolus and Loon datasets against ECMWF model forecasts suggests that the model systematically underestimates the HLOS winds in the tropical UTLS by about 1 m·s<sup>-1</sup>. While Aeolus winds are currently considered as point winds by the ECMWF data assimilation system, the results of the present study demonstrate the need for a more realistic HLOS wind observation operator for assimilating Aeolus winds.
UR  - http://resolver.sub.uni-goettingen.de/purl?gldocs-11858/11666
ER  -