Status (end of September 2024):

The project has setup:

  • an AWS direct data broadcast ground segment to receive the data in near real-time, and
  • a special version of the operational regional HARMONIE-AROME Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) system to assimilate AWS radiances

We are currently waiting for updated L0/L1 processors from ESA, updated sample data (raw and level-1b) and access to live orbital parameters (Two-Line element files - TLEs). Once we have that we can finish the setup of the Nordic ground segment (see here) and do any possible final adjustments to the NWP modelling system. Then when satellite commissioning has been completed we will start the real-time data acquisition and processing and start the actual evaluation of data.

Data evaluation procedure

The project aims at performing an early evaluation of the quality of AWS data and its potential benefit in operational regional NWP at high latitudes. We will investigate how AWS brightness temperatures fit and benefit to the NWP model background using different metrics such as time series of the mean and standard deviation of first-guess departures statistics, analysis increments, forecast scores. AWS radiances will also be compared to other microwave instruments with similar weighting functions by computing “double differences” using large samples of data.