1. Ensemble version

GloSea6

GloSea5
Ensemble identifier codeHadGEM3 GC3.2HadGEM3 GC2.0
Short DescriptionGlobal ensemble system that simulates initial-condition uncertainties using lagged initialisation and model uncertainties using a stochastic scheme. There are 4 ensemble members initialised each day, each extending to 60 days.Global ensemble system that simulates initial-condition uncertainties using lagged initialisation and model uncertainties using a stochastic scheme. There are 4 ensemble members initialised each day, each extending to 60 days.
Research or operationalOperationalOperational
Data time of first forecast run02/02/202105/02/2015

2. Configuration of the EPS



Is the model coupled to an ocean model?Yes from day 0Yes from day 0
If yes, please describe ocean model briefly including frequency of coupling and any ensemble perturbation appliedOcean model is Global Ocean 6.0, based on NEMO3.6 with 0.25 degree horizontal resolution, 75 vertical levels, initialized using NEMOVAR; no perturbations. Frequency of coupling is 1-hourly.Ocean model is Global Ocean 6.0, based on NEMO3.6 with 0.25 degree horizontal resolution, 75 vertical levels, initialized using NEMOVAR; no perturbations. Frequency of coupling is 1-hourly.
If no, please describe the sea surface temperature boundary conditions (climatology, reanalysis ...)  
Is the model coupled to a sea ice model?YesYes
If yes, please describe sea-ice model briefly including any ensemble perturbation appliedGlobal Sea Ice 8.1 (CICE5.1.2) initialized from NEMOVAR; no perturbations.Global Sea Ice 8.1 (CICE5.1.2) initialized from NEMOVAR; no perturbations.
Is the model coupled to a wave model?NoNo
If yes, please describe wave model briefly including any ensemble perturbation applied

Ocean modelNEMO 0.25 degree resolutionNEMO 0.25 degree resolution
Horizontal resolution of the atmospheric modelN216 0.83° x 0.56° (approx 60km in mid-latitudes)N216 0.83° x 0.56° (approx 60km in mid-latitudes)
Number of model levels8585
Top of model85 km85 km
Type of model levelsterrain-following, height-based vertical coordinateterrain-following, height-based vertical coordinate
Forecast length60 days60 days
Run Frequencydailydaily
Is there an unperturbed control forecast included?NoNo
Number of perturbed ensemble members4 per day4 per day
Integration time step15 minutes15 minutes

3. Initial conditions and perturbations



Data assimilation method for control analysis4D Var4D Var
Resolution of model used to generate Control AnalysisN1280L70 (0.23° x0.16°)N768L70 (0.23° x 0.16°)
Ensemble initial perturbation strategylagged initialisationlagged initialisation
Horizontal and vertical resolution of perturbationsN/AN/A
Perturbations in +/- pairsN/AN/A
Additional commentsSoil moisture is initialised using Met Office JULES-JRA55 analysis.Soil moisture is initialised with climatological mean values in both real-time forecasts  and re-forecasts.
Initialization of land surface

 3.1 What is the land surface model (LSM) and version used in the forecast model, and what are the current/relevant references for the model? Are there any significant changes/deviations in the operational version of the LSM from the documentation of the LSM?The Met Office Seasonal Forecast System version 6 using Global Coupled 3.2 (GloSea6-GC3.2) uses the Joint UK Land Environment Simulator (JULES).The Met Office Seasonal Forecast System version 5 using Global Coupled 2.0 (GloSea5-GC2) uses the Joint UK Land Environment Simulator (JULES).
 3.2 How is soil moisture initialized in the forecasts? (climatology / realistic / other)? If “climatology”, what is the source of the climatology? If “realistic”, does the soil moisture come from an analysis using the same LSM as is coupled to the GCM for forecasts, or another source? Please describe the process of soil moisture initialization.  If “other”, please describe the process of soil moisture initialization. In GloSea6-GC3.2 the soil moisture is initialised from a JULES analysis forced with JRA-55 analysis.In GloSea5-GC2 the soil moisture is initialised from a seasonally varying climatology. This climatology was derived from a JULES re-analysis using Global Land 3.0 and forced with the WATCH-Forcing-Data-ERA-Interim forcing set (Wheedon et al, 2014). This re-analysis was completed on a 0.5 degree grid and interpolated to the model resolution (0.83 x 0.56 degrees). The climatology from this re-analysis has been scaled to match the climatology of our NWP soil moisture climatology.
3.3 How is snow initialized in the forecasts?

If “climatology”, what is the source of the climatology?

If “realistic”, does the snow come from an analysis using the same LSM as is coupled to the GCM for forecasts, or another source? Please describe the process of soil moisture initialization.

If “other”, please describe the process of soil moisture initialization.

In GloSea6-GC3.2 the soil moisture is initialised from a JULES analysis forced with JRA-55 analysis.



Is there horizontal and/or vertical interpolation of data onto the forecast model grid?

Are snow mass, snow depth or both initialized?Snow is initialised “realistically” from analysis using JRA-55.Snow is initialised “realistically” from analysis. For the hindcasts this is ERA-Interim and the forecasts use the Met Office NWP global analysis. The Met Office NWP global model uses the same land surface model as GloSea5-GC2. For the hindcast the snow field is interpolated from 0.75x0.75 degrees (ERA-I) to the GloSea5-GC2 grid. Only snow mass is initialized.
3.4 How is soil temperature initialized in the forecasts? (climatology / realistic / other)

If “climatology”, what is the source of the climatology?

If “realistic”, does the soil moisture come from an analysis using the same LSM as is coupled to the GCM for forecasts, or another source? Please describe the process of soil moisture initialization.

If “other”, please describe the process of soil moisture initialization.

Is the soil temperature initialized consistently with soil moisture (frozen soil water where soil temperature ≤0°C) and snow cover (top layer soil temperature ≤0°C under snow)?

Is there horizontal and/or vertical interpolation of data onto the forecast model grid?

If all model soil layers are not initialized in the same way or from the same source, please describe.

If all model soil layers are not initialized in the same way or from the same source, please describe.Soil temperature is initialised “realistically” from analysis using JRA-55.Soil temperature is initialised “realistically” from analysis. For the hindcasts this is ERA-Interim and the forecasts use the Met Office NWP global analysis. For the hindcast the soil temperature field is interpolated from 0.75x0.75 degrees (ERA-I) to the GloSea5-GC2 grid. The level in the ERA-interim LSM start at 0, 7, 28, 100cm (https://software.ecmwf.int/wiki/pages/viewpage.action?pageId=56660259). The GloSea5-GC2 soil model levels are (in metres): (0.0,0.10), (0.10,0.35), (0.35,1.0), (1.0,3.0)
3.5 How are time-varying vegetation properties represented in the LSM?

Is phenology predicted by the LSM? If so, how is it initialized?

If not, what is the source of vegetation parameters used by the LSM? Which time-varying vegetation parameters are specified (e.g., LAI, greenness, vegetation cover fraction) and how (e.g., near-real-time satellite observations? Mean annual cycle climatology? Monthly, weekly or other interval?)

We do not include phenology. GloSea6 uses a fraction tile system with 9 tiles: 5 plant functional types and 4 non-vegetated types. The fractional values are derived from IGBP. Canopy height of plant functional types is derived from MODIS LAI data. The following variable is time varying and derived from MODIS LAI data:

* Leaf area index of plant functional types

This variable is specified at monthly intervals but there is no inter-annual variation. The initialisation values are interpolated from the monthly time series.

We do not include phenology. GloSea5 uses a fraction tile system with 9 tiles: 5 plant functional types and 4 non-vegetated types. The fractional values are derived from IGBP. Canopy height of plant functional types is derived from MODIS LAI data. The following variable is time varying and derived from MODIS LAI data:

* Leaf area index of plant functional types

This variable is specified at monthly intervals but there is no inter-annual variation. The initialisation values are interpolated from the monthly time series.

3.6 What is the source of soil properties (texture, porosity, conductivity, etc.) used by the LSM?The soil information is derived from the Harmonized World Soil Database.The soil information is derived from the Harmonized World Soil Database.
3.7 If the initialization of the LSM for re-forecasts deviates from the procedure for forecasts, please describe the differences.

The soil moisture, temperature and snow in the re-forecasts are taken from a JULES reanalysis forced by the JRA-55 reanalysis.

Shinya KOBAYASHI, Yukinari OTA, Yayoi HARADA, Ayataka EBITA, Masami MORIYA, Hirokatsu ONODA, Kazutoshi ONOGI, Hirotaka KAMAHORI, Chiaki KOBAYASHI, Hirokazu ENDO, Kengo MIYAOKA, Kiyotoshi TAKAHASHI (2015),

The JRA-55 Reanalysis: General Specifications and Basic Characteristics, Journal of the Meteorological Society of Japan. Ser II. https://doi.org/10.2151/jmsj.2015-001

There are differences between the forecast and re-forecast initialisation. These are described in the relevant sections.

4. Model uncertainties perturbations



Is model physics perturbed?Yes. A scheme called Stochastic Kinetic Energy Backscatter scheme (SKEB) adds vorticity perturbations to the forecast in order to counteract the damping of small-scale features introduced by the semi-Lagrangian advection scheme.Yes. A scheme called Stochastic Kinetic Energy Backscatter scheme (SKEB) adds vorticity perturbations to the forecast in order to counteract the damping of small-scale features introduced by the semi-Lagrangian advection scheme.
Do all ensemble members use exactly the same model version?YesYes
Is model dynamics perturbed?NoNo
Are the above model perturbations applied to the control forecast?YesYes

5. Surface boundary perturbations



Perturbations to sea surface temperature?NoNo
Perturbation to soil moisture?NoNo
Perturbation to surface stress or roughness?NoNo
Any other surface perturbation?NoNo
Are the above surface perturbations applied to the Control forecast?N/AN/A
Additional commentsAs the perturbation are exclusively based on stochastic physics and are applied to all forecast members, there is no true control member.As the perturbation are exclusively based on stochastic physics and are applied to all forecast members, there is no true control member.

6. Other details of the models



Description of model gridArakawa-C    Arakawa-C    
List of model levels in appropriate coordinates

Level list (km) 

0.0200000, 0.0533333, 0.100000, 0.160000, 0.233333, 0.320000, 0.420000, 0.533333, 0.660000, 0.800000, 0.953334, 1.12000, 1.30000, 1.49333, 1.70000, 1.92000, 2.15333, 2.40000, 2.66000, 2.93333, 3.22000, 3.52000, 3.83333, 4.16000, 4.50000, 4.85333, 5.22000, 5.60000, 5.99333, 6.40000, 6.82000, 7.25333, 7.70000, 8.16000, 8.63334, 9.12001, 9.62002, 10.1334, 10.6601, 11.2002, 11.7536, 12.3205, 12.9009, 13.4949, 14.1025, 14.7239, 15.3592, 16.0088, 16.6729, 17.3519, 18.0463, 18.7567, 19.4839, 20.2288, 20.9925, 21.7765, 22.5824, 23.4122, 24.2682, 25.1532, 26.0706, 27.0241, 28.0183, 29.0582, 30.1500, 31.3005, 32.5177, 33.8106, 35.1895, 36.6662, 38.2540, 39.9679, 41.8249, 43.8438, 46.0462, 48.4558, 51.0994, 54.0064, 57.2100, 60.7467, 64.6570, 68.9855, 73.7818, 79.1000, 85.0000

Level list (km) 

0.0200000, 0.0533333, 0.100000, 0.160000, 0.233333, 0.320000, 0.420000, 0.533333, 0.660000, 0.800000, 0.953334, 1.12000, 1.30000, 1.49333, 1.70000, 1.92000, 2.15333, 2.40000, 2.66000, 2.93333, 3.22000, 3.52000, 3.83333, 4.16000, 4.50000, 4.85333, 5.22000, 5.60000, 5.99333, 6.40000, 6.82000, 7.25333, 7.70000, 8.16000, 8.63334, 9.12001, 9.62002, 10.1334, 10.6601, 11.2002, 11.7536, 12.3205, 12.9009, 13.4949, 14.1025, 14.7239, 15.3592, 16.0088, 16.6729, 17.3519, 18.0463, 18.7567, 19.4839, 20.2288, 20.9925, 21.7765, 22.5824, 23.4122, 24.2682, 25.1532, 26.0706, 27.0241, 28.0183, 29.0582, 30.1500, 31.3005, 32.5177, 33.8106, 35.1895, 36.6662, 38.2540, 39.9679, 41.8249, 43.8438, 46.0462, 48.4558, 51.0994, 54.0064, 57.2100, 60.7467, 64.6570, 68.9855, 73.7818, 79.1000, 85.0000

What kind of large scale dynamics is used?Semi-lagrangianSemi-lagrangian
What kind of boundary layer parameterization is used?Nolocal mixing scheme and local Richardson number schemeNolocal mixing scheme and local Richardson number scheme
What kind of convective parameterization is used?
Mass flux scheme
What kind of large-scale precipitation scheme is used?Walters et al 2017Williams et al., 2015
What cloud scheme is used?Prognostic cloud fractionPrognostic cloud fraction
What kind of land-surface scheme is used?Jules coupled model; Best et al 2011Jules coupled model; Best et al 2011
How is radiation parametrized?Walters et al 2017Williams et al 2015
Other relevant details?

7. Re-forecast configuration



Number of years covered23 years (1993-2015)23 years (1993-2015)
Produced on the fly or fix re-forecasts?On the flyOn the fly
Frequencyeach month, on 1st, 9th, 17th, 25theach month, on 1st, 9th, 17th, 25th
Ensemble size7 members per year (from 25 March 2017 hindcast onwards, prior to this 3 members per year)7 members per year (from 25 March 2017 hindcast onwards, prior to this 3 members per year)
Initial conditionsERA interim and NEMOVARERA interim and NEMOVAR
Is the model physics and resolution the same as for the real-time forecasts?YesYes
If not, what are the differencesN/AN/A
Is the ensemble generation the same as for real-time forecasts?YesYes
If not, what are the differencesN/AN/A

8. References

  • Bowler N, Arribas A, Beare S, Mylne KE, Shutts G. 2009. The local ETKF and SKEB: Upgrades to the MOGREPS short-range ensemble prediction system. Q. J. R. Meteorol. Soc. 135: 767–776
  • MacLachlan, C., Arribas, A., et al.: Global Seasonal forecast system version 5 (GloSea5): a high-resolution seasonal forecast system, 2014, Q. J. Roy. Meteor. Soc., doi:10.1002/qj.2396
  • Mogensen K, Balmaseda M, Weaver AT, Martin M, Vidard A. 2009. NEMOVAR: A variational data assimilation system for the NEMO ocean model. In ECMWF Newsletter, Walter Z. (ed.) 120: 17–21. ECMWF: Reading, UK.
  • Mogensen K, Balmaseda MA, Weaver AT. 2012. ‘The NEMOVAR ocean data assimilation system as implemented in the ECMWF ocean analysis for System 4’, Technical Report TR-CMGC-12-30. CERFACS: Toulouse, France.
  • Williams, K. D., Harris, C. M., Bodas-Salcedo, A., Camp, J., Comer, R. E., Copsey, D., Fereday, D., Graham, T., Hill, R., Hinton, T., Hyder, P., Ineson, S., Masato, G., Milton, S. F., Roberts, M. J., Rowell, D. P., Sanchez, C., Shelly, A., Sinha, B., Walters, D. N., West, A., Woollings, T., and Xavier, P. K.: The Met Office Global Coupled model 2.0 (GC2) configuration, Geosci. Model Dev., 8, 1509-1524, doi:10.5194/gmd-8-1509-2015, 2015.

Joint UK Land Environment Simulator (JULES):

  • Best, M. J., Pryor, M., Clark, D. B., Rooney, G. G., Essery, R. L. H., Ménard, C. B., Edwards, J. M., Hendry, M. A., Porson, A., Gedney, N., Mercado, L. M., Sitch, S., Blyth, E., Boucher, O., Cox, P. M., Grimmond, C. S. B., and Harding, R. J.: The Joint UK Land Environment Simulator (JULES), model description – Part 1: Energy and water fluxes, Geosci. Model Dev., 4, 677-699, doi:10.5194/gmd-4-677-2011, 2011.
  • Walters, D., Brooks, M., Boutle, I., Melvin, T., Stratton, R., Vosper, S., Wells, H., Williams, K., Wood, N., Allen, T., Bushell, A., Copsey, D., Earnshaw, P., Edwards, J., Gross, M., Hardiman, S., Harris, C., Heming, J., Klingaman, N., Levine, R., Manners, J., Martin, G., Milton, S., Mittermaier, M., Morcrette, C., Riddick, T., Roberts, M., Sanchez, C., Selwood, P., Stirling, A., Smith, C., Suri, D., Tennant, W., Vidale, P. L., Wilkinson, J., Willett, M., Woolnough, S., and Xavier, P.: The Met Office Unified Model Global Atmosphere 6.0/6.1 and JULES Global Land 6.0/6.1 configurations, Geosci. Model Dev. Discuss., doi:10.5194/gmd-2016-194, in review, 2016.
  • Walters, D. N., A., Baran, I., Boutle, M. E., Brooks, P., Earnshaw, J., Edwards, K., Furtado, K., Hil,l P., Lock, A., Manners, J., Morcrette, C., Mulcahy, J., Sanchez, C., Smith, C., Stratton, R., Tennant, W., Tomassini, L., Van Weverberg, K., Vosper, S., Willett, M., Browse, J., Bushell, A., Dalvi, M., Essery, R., Gedney, N., Hardiman, S., Johnson, B., Johnson, C., Jone,s A., Mann, G., Milton, S., Rumbold, H., Sellar, A., Ujiie, M., Whitall, M., Williams K.,  Zerroukat, M, (2017). The Met Office Unified Model Global Atmosphere 7.0/7.1 and JULES Global Land 7.0 configurations. Geoscientific Model Development. https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-2017-291