2,108 research outputs found
Limited Area Numerical Weather Prediction
No full textTwo limited area model derivatives of the numerical weather prediction model COSMO-DE operated by the German Meteorological Service are introduced. The aim is to obtain frequently updated highly re-solved predictions in a limited area as an aerodrome. The predictions include dynamic parameters as wind and turbulence kinetic energy and thermodynamic quantities as temperature and humidity but also the amount of snow, rain and hail. The models are used in the airport environments of Frankfurt (COSMO-FRA) and Munich (COSMO-MUC) for aircraft wake vortex, thunderstorm activity, and wintry weather warning applications, as detailed in Sections 2.1 to 2.4
SC-COSMO/sccosmomcma: Published version
No full textThis release includes the code of all the analyses conducted for the following manuscript:
Alarid-Escudero F, Gracia V, Luviano A, Roa J, Peralta Y, Reitsma
MB, Claypool AL, Salomon JA, Studdert DM, Andrews JR,
Goldhaber-Fiebert JD, Stanford-CIDE Coronavirus Simulation Model
(SC-COSMO) Modeling Consortium (2021) "Dependence of Covid-19
policies on end-of-year holiday contacts in Mexico City Metropolitan
Area: A Modeling Study". Medical Decision Making Policy & Practice
(In press)
The antiquarian photography of Cosmo Innes
No full textThe article focuses on the photography of historian Cosmo Innes. The author provides a brief historical background on Innes, discusses his interest in photographing pre-Reformation Scottish churches, and contrasts his work depicting church architecture to his photographs of country mansions, including Cawdor Castle, Auldbar Castle, and Gordon Castle
Collision Avoidance Activities for COSMO-SkyMed Constellation
No full textCOSMO-SkyMed (COnstellation of Satellites for Mediterranean basin Observation) is an Earth Observation space program funded by the Italian Ministry of Research and Ministry of Defence and
managed by the Italian Space Agency (ASI) in conjunction with Italian MoD.
COSMO-SkyMed (CSK) consists of a constellation of four Low Earth Orbit mid-sized satellites, each carrying a multi-mode, high resolution, electronically steerable Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR)
instrument operating at X-band and a full featured Ground Segment to properly exploit space capabilities. CSK System is fully qualified and now in operative phase.
This paper describes the characteristics and functionalities of COSMO-SkyMed collision avoidance system, highlighting its versatility and effectiveness for constellation in flight operations. Moreover, the application of the COSMO-SkyMed risk mitigation daily procedure during two year of operations is described
COSMO-SkyMed Dual-Use and Multi-National Experienced Challenges and Operational Implications
No full textCOSMO-SkyMed is an Earth Observation space program funded by the Italian Ministry of Research and Italian Ministry of Defence (It-MoD) and conducted by the Italian Space Agency (ASI) in conjunction with It-MoD, which was designed in order to fulfill Dual-Use requirements in terms of different needs of Defence and Civilian Users, such as different requirements in data products, system performances, security needs, response time, request priority management and data accessibility/confidentiality, being a pioneer program in the frame of the Civil and Military Space Duality and representing a reference for future Earth Observation space programs.
Furthermore, COSMO-SkyMed was designed in order to achieve Interoperability, Expandability with respect to additional Defence and Civilian Partners and Multi-Mission features, which are the bases for the establishment of international cooperation programs that have been set up by ASI and It-MoD or are going-on, such as the Italian-French cooperation named ORFEO (Optical and Radar Federated Earth Observation) and the Italian-Argentinean cooperation named SIASGE (Sistema Ítalo Argentino de Satélites para la Gestión de Emergencias). In such a context,
a significant example of successful COSMO-SkyMed international partnership is the recent French Defence User Ground Segment (F-DUGS) integration within COSMO-SkyMed system.
The aim of this paper is to show the COSMO-SkyMed conceived architecture, the experienced operational implications collected in operating the system from the launch of the first COSMO-SkyMed satellite until the completion of the constellation and the integration of the French Partner into the system, highlighting the lessons learned and the experienced challenges to fulfill very innovative and demanding requirements
Rilevamento geomorfologico e gestione dati spaziali attraverso l'uso combinato hardware-software Open-Source per il controllo e la gestione del rischio geologico
No full textThis thesis was designed and built to test a new system of hardware-software combined study for the control and management of geological risk arising from mud flow landslides and slopes slow movements.
The various issues that arise at present in the landslide management risk are related to poor knowledge of the territory from the geological, geomorphological and specially geodynamic point of view. In risk management modern technical software and hardware very often are neglected, probably because no direct knowledge, that would allow a more advanced risk management in real time.
The latest hardware and software generation can identify, if associated with the availability of appropriate and correct data, any type of risk triggering cause arising from natural or anthropogenic factors.
This thesis focuses on the resolution of the above mentioned issues and finding detailed use not only at the civil protection level but also in the freelance profession.
In this thesis has been tested, with positive results, the Open - Source (OS) software applied to geological, geomorphological and geodynamic data collected on field in two areas; Olvera in Spain (detection area) and Oliveto Lucano in Italy (test area). OS software are indeed available and freely accessible at no cost.
The development of the project was divided into three main phases coinciding with the duration of doctorate (three years). They are: Geological and geomorphological survey (1st phase), server management versus UMPC and Open Source software (2nd phase) and two and three dimensional simulations of mud flow landslides with verify on test area (3rd phase).
More specifically, in the first year, in addition to the bibliographic collection and the choice of detection area (Olvera, Cadiz, Andalucia, Spain) and the test area (Oliveto Lucano, Matera, Basilicata, Italy) was carried out an intensive geological and geomorphological survey with the collection of all available data through the use of an Ultra Mobile Personal Computer (UMPC) above all in the Olvera. During the field work were selected and tested some of the OS software for digitization and data acquisition. Meanwhile in the laboratory was achieved on the network server, the web site, the DBMS database and the GUI of the WebGIS.
In the second year were improved techniques for survey detection through the use of UMPC and its direct connection with the server via HSDPA (High Speed Downlink Packet Access). Have also completed the selection, installation and development of other OS software needed to complete the project for the DBMS and the WebGIS area. Most important was the realization, through GIS and graphics tools chosen, geological and geomorphological maps and especially the map of susceptibility. After the realization of map of susceptibility, was performed a new detection phase on the field for a map validation.
In the third year the software development for the monitoring of movements by comparison of automatic objects placement on the territory from orthophotos or aerial photos of different years was performed and also the simulated two-and three-dimensional mud flow phenomena and slopes slow movements. All the simulations and tests carried out on landslides in the Olvera was verified on field. Even the simulation of landslides in the area of Oliveto Lucano have been tested on field.
During the three years of the PhD were produced poster, pbstract and articles. Here are the headlines: A tiicks published:
-A new approach to landslide geomorphological mapping using Open-Source software in the Olvera area (Cadiz, Spain), F. Mantovani, P. D. de Cosmo, A. Suma & F.J. Gracia. Su Landslides magazine. Poster:
-"Aplicacion del software Open Source (Web GIS) a la cartograffa geologica y geomorfologica del area de Olvera (Cadiz)" P.D. de Cosmo, A. Suma, F.J. Gracia y F. Mantovani, alia X Reunion Nacional de Geomorfologfa Cadiz, 16-19 Settembre 2008 Abstract:
Gypsum Karst in the Olvera Area (Cadiz Province, Andalucia, Spain), Andrea Suma, Francisco Javier Gracia Prieto, Pietro Domenico de Cosmo; 17th International Karstological School, Postojna Slovenija, 15th to 20th June, 200
Validating precipitation forecasts using remote sensor synergy: A case study approach
No full textSeveral types of remote sensing data are applied synergistically to evaluate the chain of microphysical
processes leading to precipitation in a high-resolution numerical weather prediction model. The data provides
information relating to (i) cloud-top temperature and optical depth (SEVERI), (ii) ice cloud amount (AMSUB),
(iii) type and amount of precipitation particles (polarimetric radar), and (iv) surface precipitation
(raingauge-calibrated radar data). Forecasts are produced by the COSMO-DE model of the German weather
service, with a horizontal resolution of 2.8 km. The comparison with data is done in a model-to-observation
framework, that is, forward operators are applied to the model output to produce synthetic data sets that
can be directly compared to the observations. Additional diagnostics based on diurnal cycle and system
tracking are also considered. Two case studies over Germany from the summer of 2006 are examined. The
first case is dominated by widespread stratiform precipitation. Together the various data sets show that the
model overestimates the amount of high cloud, while underestimating the concentration of ice scatterers
and overestimating reflectivity and differential reflectivity (ZDR). This indicates errors in both the amount
and the size distributions of cloud and precipitation particles in the model’s microphysical parameterization.
In the second case a narrow band of convective precipitation is embedded in a cold front, with significant
modulation by the diurnal cycle. The model fails to show a significant diurnal cycle in cloud amount, and
the timing and duration of convective cells is incorrect. In this case, both the microphysical parameterization,
and errors in the interaction of the simulated front with the orography of the Alps appear to contribute. These
results demonstrate the potential of combinations of remote sensing data for model evaluation, although a
long-term trial will be required to determine whether the errors seen in the case studies are characteristic for
COSMO-DE
Exploitation of the COSMO-SkyMed SAR system for GMTI applications
No full textThe focus of this paper is on the exploitation of COSMO-SkyMed spotlight SAR images for Ground Moving Target Indication (GMTI). To this purpose, a two-step processing chain is proposed: the first step performs stationary clutter removal, whereas the second step performs moving targets detection. Both the steps are based on the use of a bank of focusing filters, each one matched to a different relative speed between the radar antenna and the target, here implemented as Chirp Scaling Algorithms in order to keep low the computational burden. The performance of the proposed technique is investigated by applying it to COSMO-SkyMed Single Look Complex spotlight SAR images and compared to theoretical performance: the analysis shows the effectiveness of the proposed technique in suppressing the stationary clutter and providing a high gain in signal to background power ratio, thus allowing subclutter visibility despite the single-channel nature of COSMO-SkyMed data. Moreover, the information provided by the bank is used to estimate the target motion and, by using a knowledge-based approach, relocate in along-track direction the detected movers. The shown results prove the feasibility of a GMTI mode for the COSMO-SkyMed SAR system and more in general for single-channel spaceborne systems
Evaluating Ice Microphysics in NWP Models with Satellite Observations
No full textIce clouds are an important part of the Earth’s atmospheric water cycle and have a large impact on the global radiation budget. Yet ice clouds are still poorly understood and their correct representation remains a major challenge for state-of-the-art atmospheric models. Also, the evaluation of the models’ performance with respect to ice clouds is not straightforward; remote sensing instruments, for example, measure other quantities than the models predict. Therefore, two basic evaluation approaches exist: observation-to-model (commonly termed retrieval) and model-to-observation (commonly termed forward operator). Both approaches introduce errors into the comparison of models and observations because of the necessary intrinsic assumptions. The common practice in model evaluation of choosing either the one or the other of these approaches might give an incomplete picture.
The present study evaluates the ice microphysics of two numerical weather prediction (NWP) models currently operational at the German weather service (Deutscher Wetterdienst, DWD): the global model GME and the regional model COSMO-DE (an application of the Consortium for Small-scale Modelling, COSMO). In doing so, this study contributes significantly to ongoing model development at DWD. Both case studies and long-term evaluations are carried out. Cloud Satellite (CloudSat) Cloud Profiling Radar (CPR) observations are heavily relied on; the CPR is the first and — up to date — only cloud radar in space and is able to vertically resolve even optically thick clouds. This study focuses on one specific question raised for each of the respective models and while doing so applies both approaches; the standard CloudSat radar reflectivity factor–ice water content (IWC) retrieval for the observation-to-model approach and the forward operator QuickBeam for the model-to-observation approach. This enables for one, to profit from the full informational content, and for the other, to compare both approaches directly to each other and evaluate them.
For the global model GME, two precipitation schemes, a diagnostic and a prognostic one, are compared and evaluated. The focus is on the question whether the new prognostic scheme is capable of capturing ice clouds more realistically than the old diagnostic scheme. The prognostic scheme is shown to exhibit improved performance in comparison to the diagnostic scheme in terms of IWC magnitude. In both models snow is found to dominate over cloud ice in total IWC, emphasizing the need for including snow in the model’s radiation budget in the future. Furthermore, one reason for the remaining difference between the prognostic scheme and the observations — the unrealistic fall speed of snow — is identified. As a consequence, the new prognostic scheme with an adapted parameterization for snow fall speed was successfully introduced into operational service at DWD.
In the regional NWP model COSMO-DE, a long-known bias between brightness temperatures simulated from COSMO-DE forecasts and those observed by Meteosat Second Generation (MSG) Spinning Enhanced Visible and Infrared Imager (SEVIRI) is investigated. The pivotal question is whether a novel two-moment cloud ice scheme exhibits improved
performance with respect to this bias and, if that is so, why. It is shown that the novel two-moment cloud ice scheme does indeed reduce this bias and can therefore be considered an improvement in comparison to two standard schemes, the two-category ice scheme and the currently operational three-category ice scheme. The improvement in simulated brightness temperatures is due to a vertical redistribution of cloud ice to lower model levels. Furthermore, sensitivity studies identify two of the four changes introduced, which are responsible for most of the improved performance: the change to a different heterogeneous nucleation scheme and the inclusion of cloud ice sedimentation. Enhanced vertical level number and modifications in aerosol number concentrations reveal comparatively little effect. As a consequence, cloud ice sedimention will be included per se in DWD’s future NWP model, the Icosahedral non-hydrostatic (ICON) model, currently still under development.
Concerning the two evaluation approaches conducted, the present study finds the general features in the two evaluations to be captured by both approaches. Some details are captured merely by the one or the other approach, in which case both approaches together give the more complete picture. However, the model-to-observation approach appears to be easier to interpret; its uncertainties are easier to assess than those of the observation-to-model approach and it ensures a better control over the comparison
Coordination and Engineering Support to COSMO End-to-End Operations
No full textCOSMO-SkyMed is an Earth Observation space program conducted by the Italian Space Agency (ASI) in conjunction with It-MoD. In the framework of the current programmatic phase concerning the operational management of the constellation, a set of qualified teams was introduced in order to perform technical, operational and engineering activities on the system, and tailored information flows were developed among ASI, It-
MoD and Industrial staff in order to continuously guarantee the performances and the availability of the system and to identify potential enhancements and changes for the optimization of the overall cost/benefit ratio and the increase of the performances with respect to the original specification.
Aim of this paper is to describe the conceived organization oriented to perform maintenance, operations and sustaining engineering activities in the frame of the operational management of the COSMO-SkyMed system, and to assess the tasks performed and the capabilities assured by the instituted
teams, showing in detail the anomalies and non-conformances management process, the process assumed to keep the system performances inside the thresholds, to measure and validate the availability, effectiveness and efficiency figures of COSMO-SkyMed system, and to continuously figure out lessons learnt, trend analyses and optimization strategies. The efficiency of the conceived organization and processes in performing such activities is assessed in this paper through specific test cases
and examples
- …
