Observation impacts in the lower troposphere and challenges of Planetary Boundary Layer data assimilation
The Goddard Earth Observing System (GEOS) developed by the NASA Global Modeling and Assimilation Office assimilates a wide range of observations to support various NASA Earth Science missions. To set the stage for follow-on Planetary Boundary Layer (PBL) science and prepare for future observing systems of the next decade, we have assessed the effectiveness of the use of existing observing systems in the lower troposphere in GEOS, and analyzed model responses to the incremental analysis update (IAU) forcing. With a better understanding of the GEOS data assimilation algorithms in the PBL, we have developed strategies for improved PBL data assimilation in GEOS. The strategies to enhance data usages in both the data assimilation system and forecast model will be presented, and the utilization of PBL height data from multiple observing systems will be discussed as well.