Development of Grid e-Infrastructure in South-Eastern Europe

Over the period of 6 years and three phases, the SEE-GRID programme has established a strong regional human network in the area of distributed scientific computing and has set up a powerful regional Grid infrastructure. It attracted a number of user communities and applications from diverse fields from countries throughout the South-Eastern Europe. From the infrastructure point view, the first project phase has established a pilot Grid infrastructure with more than 20 resource centers in 11 countries. During the subsequent two phases of the project, the infrastructure has grown to currently 55 resource centers with more than 6600 CPUs and 750 TBs of disk storage, distributed in 16 participating countries. Inclusion of new resource centers to the existing infrastructure, as well as a support to new user communities, has demanded setup of regionally distributed core services, development of new monitoring and operational tools, and close collaboration of all partner institution in managing such a complex infrastructure. In this paper we give an overview of the development and current status of SEE-GRID regional infrastructure and describe its transition to the NGI-based Grid model in EGI, with the strong SEE regional collaboration.Comment: 22 pages, 12 figures, 4 table

The Advantage of Using International Multimodel Ensemble for Seasonal Precipitation Forecast over Israel

This study analyzes the results of monthly and seasonal precipitation forecasting from seven different global climate forecast models for major basins in Israel within October–April 1982–2010. The six National Multimodel Ensemble (NMME) models and the ECMWF seasonal model were used to calculate an International Multimodel Ensemble (IMME). The study presents the performance of both monthly and seasonal predictions of precipitation accumulated over three months, with respect to different lead times for the ensemble mean values, one per individual model. Additionally, we analyzed the performance of different combinations of models. We present verification of seasonal forecasting using real forecasts, focusing on a small domain characterized by complex terrain, high annual precipitation variability, and a sharp precipitation gradient from west to east as well as from south to north. The results in this study show that, in general, the monthly analysis does not provide very accurate results, even when using the IMME for one-month lead time. We found that the IMME outperformed any single model prediction. Our analysis indicates that the optimal combinations with the high correlation values contain at least three models. Moreover, prediction with larger number of models in the ensemble produces more robust predictions. The results obtained in this study highlight the advantages of using an ensemble of global models over single models for small domain

Co-design of sectoral climate services based on seasonal prediction information in the Mediterranean

We present in this contribution the varied experiences gathered in the co-design of a sectoral climate services collection, developed in the framework of the MEDSCOPE project, which have in common the application of seasonal predictions for the Mediterranean geographical and climatic region. Although the region is affected by low seasonal predictability limiting the skill of seasonal forecasting systems, which historically has hindered the development of downstream services, the project was originally conceived to exploit windows of opportunity with enhanced skill for developing and evaluating climate services in various sectors with high societal impact in the region: renewable energy, hydrology, and agriculture and forestry. The project also served as the scientific branch of the WMO-led Mediterranean Climate Outlook Forum (MedCOF) that had as objective -among others- partnership strengthening on climate services between providers and users within the Mediterranean region. The diversity of the MEDSCOPE experiences in co-designing shows the wide range of involvement and engagement of users in this process across the Mediterranean region, which benefits from the existing solid and organized MedCOF community of climate services providers and users. A common issue among the services described here -and also among other prototypes developed in the project- was related with the communication of forecasts uncertainty and skill for efficiently informing decision-making in practice. All MEDSCOPE project prototypes make use of an internally developed software package containing process-based methods for synthesising seasonal forecast data, as well as basic and advanced tools for obtaining tailored products. Another challenge assumed by the project refers to the demonstration of the economic, social, and environmental value of predictions provided by these MEDSCOPE prototypes.The work described in this paper has received funding from the MEDSCOPE project co-funded by the European Commission as part of ERA4CS, an ERA-NET initiated by JPI Climate, grant agreement 690462.Peer Reviewed"Article signat per 16 autors/es: Eroteida Sánchez-García, Ernesto Rodríguez-Camino, Valentina Bacciu, Marta Chiarle, José Costa-Saura, Maria Nieves Garrido, Llorenç Lledó, Beatriz Navascués, Roberta Paranunzio, Silvia Terzag, Giulio Bongiovanni, Valentina Mereu, Guido Nigrelli, Monia Santini, Albert Soret, Jostvon Hardenberg"Postprint (published version

Co-design of sectoral climate services based on seasonal prediction information in the Mediterranean

We present in this contribution the varied experiences gathered in the co-design of a sectoral climate services collection, developed in the framework of the MEDSCOPE project, which have in common the application of seasonal predictions for the Mediterranean geographical and climatic region. Although the region is affected by low seasonal predictability limiting the skill of seasonal forecasting systems, which historically has hindered the development of downstream services, the project was originally conceived to exploit windows of opportunity with enhanced skill for developing and evaluating climate services in various sectors with high societal impact in the region: renewable energy, hydrology, and agriculture and forestry. The project also served as the scientific branch of the WMO-led Mediterranean Climate Outlook Forum (MedCOF) that had as objective -among others- partnership strengthening on climate services between providers and users within the Mediterranean region. The diversity of the MEDSCOPE experiences in co-designing shows the wide range of involvement and engagement of users in this process across the Mediterranean region, which benefits from the existing solid and organized MedCOF community of climate services providers and users. A common issue among the services described here -and also among other prototypes developed in the project- was related with the communication of forecasts uncertainty and skill for efficiently informing decision-making in practice. All MEDSCOPE project prototypes make use of an internally developed software package containing process-based methods for synthesising seasonal forecast data, as well as basic and advanced tools for obtaining tailored products. Another challenge assumed by the project refers to the demonstration of the economic, social, and environmental value of predictions provided by these MEDSCOPE prototypes.The work described in this paper has received funding from the MEDSCOPE project co-funded by the European Commission as part of ERA4CS, an ERA-NET initiated by JPI Climate, grant agreement 690462

Use of large-scale atmospheric flow patterns to improve forecasting of extreme precipitation in the Mediterranean region for longer-range forecasts

The Mediterranean region frequently experiences extreme precipitation events (EPEs) with devastating consequences for affected societies, economies, and environment. Thus, it is crucial to better understand their characteristics and drivers and improve their predictions at longer lead times. This work provides new insights about the spatiotemporal dependencies of EPEs in the region. It, moreover, implements Empirical Orthogonal Function analysis and subsequent non-hierarchical Kmeans clustering for generating nine distinct weather patterns over the domain, referred to as “Mediterranean patterns”. These patterns are significantly associated with EPEs across the region, and in fact, can be used to extend the forecasting horizon of EPEs. This is demonstrated considering modelled data for all the domain, but also using observational data for Calabria, southern Italy, an area of complex topography that increases the challenges of weather prediction. The results suggest preferential techniques for improving EPEs predictions for short, medium, and extended range forecasts, supporting thus the mitigation of their negative impacts

Application of the LEPS technique for Quantitative Precipitation Forecasting (QPF) in Southern Italy: a preliminary study

International audienceThis paper reports preliminary results for a Limited area model Ensemble Prediction System (LEPS), based on RAMS (Regional Atmospheric Modelling System), for eight case studies of moderate-intense precipitation over Calabria, the southernmost tip of the Italian peninsula. LEPS aims to transfer the benefits of a probabilistic forecast from global to regional scales in countries where local orographic forcing is a key factor to force convection. To accomplish this task and to limit computational time in an operational implementation of LEPS, we perform a cluster analysis of ECMWF-EPS runs. Starting from the 51 members that form the ECMWF-EPS we generate five clusters. For each cluster a representative member is selected and used to provide initial and dynamic boundary conditions to RAMS, whose integrations generate LEPS. RAMS runs have 12-km horizontal resolution. To analyze the impact of enhanced horizontal resolution on quantitative precipitation forecasts, LEPS forecasts are compared to a full Brute Force (BF) ensemble. This ensemble is based on RAMS, has 36 km horizontal resolution and is generated by 51 members, nested in each ECMWF-EPS member. LEPS and BF results are compared subjectively and by objective scores. Subjective analysis is based on precipitation and probability maps of case studies whereas objective analysis is made by deterministic and probabilistic scores. Scores and maps are calculated by comparing ensemble precipitation forecasts against reports from the Calabria regional raingauge network. Results show that LEPS provided better rainfall predictions than BF for all case studies selected. This strongly suggests the importance of the enhanced horizontal resolution, compared to ensemble population, for Calabria for these cases. To further explore the impact of local physiographic features on QPF (Quantitative Precipitation Forecasting), LEPS results are also compared with a 6-km horizontal resolution deterministic forecast. Due to local and mesoscale forcing, the high resolution forecast (Hi-Res) has better performance compared to the ensemble mean for rainfall thresholds larger than 10mm but it tends to overestimate precipitation for lower amounts. This yields larger false alarms that have a detrimental effect on objective scores for lower thresholds. To exploit the advantages of a probabilistic forecast compared to a deterministic one, the relation between the ECMWF-EPS 700 hPa geopotential height spread and LEPS performance is analyzed. Results are promising even if additional studies are required

Coastal Ocean Forecasting: science foundation and user benefits

The advancement of Coastal Ocean Forecasting Systems (COFS) requires the support of continuous scientific progress addressing: (a) the primary mechanisms driving coastal circulation; (b) methods to achieve fully integrated coastal systems (observations and models), that are dynamically embedded in larger scale systems; and (c) methods to adequately represent air-sea and biophysical interactions. Issues of downscaling, data assimilation, atmosphere-wave-ocean couplings and ecosystem dynamics in the coastal ocean are discussed. These science topics are fundamental for successful COFS, which are connected to evolving downstream applications, dictated by the socioeconomic needs of rapidly increasing coastal populations

Advancements in mesoscale ensemble prediction strategies: Application to Mediterranean high-impact weather

[cat] La predictibilitat d'esdeveniments d'alt impacte a la regi o Mediterr ania ha millorat substancialment al llarg de les darreres d ecades. No obstant aix o, una representaci o precisa d'aspectes dels sistemes convectius rellevants per la societat, tals com el moment en qu e es produeixen, i la seva localitzaci o i intensitat encara suposen un repte. Aquestes febleses de la predicci o a escala convectiva provenen d'imprecisions a l'estimaci o de l'estat atmosf eric inicial, la formulaci o de processos f sics rellevants i la natura ca otica dels sistema associada a la seva no linealitat. En el marc probabil stic imposat per les incerteses intr nseques implicades en la predicci o num erica del temps, l'entitat matem atica que quanti ca la incertesa en l'estat atmosf eric es la funci o densitat de probabilitat. Malgrat aix o, el c alcul de la seva evoluci o temporal es inviable per situacions realistes amb els recursos computacionals disponibles actualment. La modesta aproximaci o habitual per estimar aquesta evoluci o es l' us d'un discret i petit nombre de mostres de l'estat del sistema, que es coneix com a predicci o per conjunts (ensemble forecasting). L'objectiu general d'aquesta Tesi es entendre millor els l mits de la predictibilitat i contribuir a una millora de la predicci o de temps sever a la regi o Mediterr ania. En primer lloc, s'avalua l'evoluci o temporal de les funcions densitat de probabilitat per sistemes de baixa complexitat amb un cert grau de realisme adoptant el formalisme de Liouville. En segon lloc, es dissenya una estrat egia de mostreig per crear pertorbacions a les condicions inicials per abastos de predicci o curts (24-36 h). La t ecnica es basa en el m etode de breeding, que utilitza la din amica completa no lineal per identi car modes de creixement r apid. La modi caci o proposada est a dirigida a ajustar l'escala de les pertorbacions per tal de cobrir l'ample rang d'escales rellevants per la predicci o de curt abast. En tercer lloc, s'investiga el potencial de varis m etodes per tenir en compte la incertesa en el model per a un episodi recent de precipitacions intenses i inundacions que va oc orrer al llarg de la costa Mediterr ania espanyola (12-13 setembre de 2019). S'avaluen m ultiples estrat egies estoc astiques en front l'aproximaci o ordin aria de multif sica en termes de diversitat i habilitat de l'ensemble. Les t ecniques considerades inclouen pertorbacions estoc astiques a les tend encies f siques i pertorbacions a par ametres in uents de l'esquema de microf sica. Finalment, aquestes estrat egies de generaci o d'ensembles s'utilitzen com a for cament meteorol ogic per a un model hidrol ogic per tal d'investigar la predictibilitat 21 22 CONTENTS hidrometeorol ogica de l'episodi del 12-13 setembre de 2019. Les t ecniques desenvolupades, juntament amb l'assimilaci o de dades mitjan cant Ensemble Kalman Filter es comparen amb altres estrat egies populars, tals com el downscaling d'un model global i l'aproximaci o de multif sica. Els resultats d'aquesta Tesi s on rellevants des d'una perspectiva te orica, ja que la soluci o de l'equaci o de Liouville revela estructures complexes per la funci o densitat de probabilitat que podrien comprometre les hip otesis de compacitat i suavitat assumides per la majoria d'eines d'interpretaci o i post proc es d'ensembles. Per altra banda, les estrat egies de generaci o d'ensembles desenvolupades mostren potencial per millorar la predicci o d'esdeveniments d'alt impacte, que es demostra per una major diversitat i habilitat dels ensembles comparades amb les estrat egies de refer encia. Aquests resultats prometedors posen les bases per un sistema avan cat d'alertes a la regi o Mediterr ania per encarar els esdeveniments de temps sever.[spa] La predictibilidad de eventos de alto impacto en la regi on Mediterr anea ha mejorado sustancialmente a lo largo de las ultimas d ecadas. No obstante, una representaci on precisa de aspectos relevantes de los sistemas convectivos relevantes para la sociedad, como el momento en el que se producen, su localizaci on e intensidad a un suponen un reto. Estas debilidades de la predicci on a escala convectiva provienen de imprecisiones en la estimaci on del estado atmosf erico inicial, la formulaci on de los procesos f sicos relevantes y la naturaleza ca otica del sistema asociada a su no linealidad. En el marco probabilista impuesto por las incertidumbres intr nsecas implicadas en la predicci on num erica del tiempo, la entidad matem atica que cuanti ca la incertidumbre en el estado atmosf erico inicial es la funci on densidad de probabilidad. Sin embargo, el c alculo de su evoluci on temporal es inviable para situaciones realistas con los recursos computacionales disponibles actualmente. La modesta aproximaci on habitual para estimar esta evoluci on en el uso de un discreto y peque~no n umero de muestras del estado del sistema, lo que se conoce como predicci on por conjuntos (ensemble forecasting). El objetivo general de esta Tesis es entender mejor los l mites de la predictibilidad y contribuir a una mejora de la predicci on del tiempo severo en la regi on Mediterr anea. En primer lugar, se eval ua la evoluci on temporal de las funciones densidad de probabilidad para sistemas de baja complejidad con un cierto grado de realismo adoptando el formalismo te orico de Liouville. En segundo lugar, se dise~na una estrategia de muestreo para crear perturbaciones en les condiciones iniciales para alcances de predicci on cortos (24-36 h). La t ecnica se basa en el m etodo de breeding, que utiliza la din amica completa no lineal para identi car modos de crecimiento r apido. La modi caci on propuesta est a dirigida a ajustar la escala de las perturbaciones para cubrir el amplio rango de escalas relevantes para la predicci on de corto alcance. En tercer lugar, se investiga el potencial de varios m etodos para tener en cuenta la incertidumbre en el modelo para un episodio reciente de precipitaciones intensas e inundaciones que ocurri o a lo largo de la costa Mediterr anea espa~nola (12-13 de septiembre de 2019). Se eval uan m ultiples estrategias estoc asticas frente a la aproximaci on ordinaria de multif sica en t erminos de diversidad y habilidad del ensemble. Las t ecnicas consideradas incluyen perturbaciones estoc asticas en las tendencias f sicas y perturbaciones en par ametros in uyentes del esquema de microf sica. Finalmente, estas estrategias de generaci on de ensembles se usan como forzamiento meteorol ogico para un modelo hidrol ogico con el n de investigar la predictibilidad hidrometeorol ogica del episodio del 12-13 de septiembre de 2019. Las t ecnicas desarrolladas, junto a la asimilaci on de datos mediante Ensemble Kalman Filter se comparan con otras estrategias populares, como el dowscaling de un modelo global y la aproximaci on de multif sica. Los resultados de esta Tesis son relevantes desde una perspectiva te orica, ya que la soluci on de la ecuaci on de Liouville revela estructuras complejas para la funci on densidad de probabilidad que podr an comprometer las hip otesis de compacidad y suavidad asumidas por la mayor a de herramientas de interpretaci on y pos proceso de ensembles. Por otro lado, las estrategias de generaci on de ensembles desarrolladas muestran potencial para mejorar la predicci on de eventos de alto impacto, que se demuestra por una mayor diversidad y habilidad de los ensembles comparadas con las estrategias de referencia. Estos resultados prometedores sientan las bases para un sistema avanzado de alertas en la regi on Mediterr anea para afrontar los eventos de tiempo severo.[eng] The predictability of meteorological high-impact events in the Mediterranean region has substantially improved over the last decades. Nevertheless, a precise representation of socially relevant aspects of convective systems, such as their timing, location, and intensity is still challenging. These weaknesses of convective-scale forecasting stem from inaccuracies in the estimation of the atmospheric initial state, formulation of relevant physical processes, and the chaotic nature of the system associated with its nonlinearity. In the probabilistic framework imposed by the intrinsic uncertainties involved in numerical weather prediction, the mathematical entity that quanti es the uncertainty in the atmospheric state is the probability density function. However, the computation of its time evolution is unfeasible for realistic situations with the current available computational resources. The usual modest approach to estimate this evolution is the use of a discrete and small number of samples of the state of the system, which is known as ensemble forecasting. The general aim of this Thesis is to better understand the predictability limits and contribute towards the improvement of severe weather forecasting in the Mediterranean region. Firstly, the time evolution of probability density functions for low complexity systems with a certain degree of realism is evaluated by adopting the Liouville formalism. Secondly, a sampling strategy to create initial condition perturbations for the short-range (24-36 h) is designed. The technique is based on the breeding method, which uses the full nonlinear dynamics to identify fast-growing modes. The proposed modi cation is aimed at tailoring the scale of the perturbations in order to cover the wide range of scales relevant for short-range forecasting. Thirdly, the potential of several methods to account for model uncertainty is investigated for a recent heavy precipitation and ash ood episode occurred along the Spanish Mediterranean coast (12-13 September 2019). Multiple stochastic strategies are evaluated against the ordinary multiphysics approach in terms of ensemble diversity and skill. The considered techniques include stochastically perturbed physics tendencies and perturbations to in uential parameters within the microphysics scheme. Finally, these ensemble generation strategies are used as the meteorological forcing for a hydrological model in order to investigate the hydrometeorological predictability of the 12-13 September 2019 episode. The developed techniques, along with data assimilation by means of Ensemble Kalman Filter are compared to other popular strategies, such as the downscaling from a global model and the multiphysics approach. The results of this Thesis are relevant from a theoretical perspective, as the solution of the Liouville equation reveals complex structures for the probability density function that could compromise the hypothesis of compactness and smoothness assumed by most current ensemble interpretation and postprocessing tools. Conversely, the ensemble generation strategies developed show potential to improve the forecasting of high-impact events, proven by higher ensemble diversity and skill compared to the benchmark strategies. These encouraging results lay the foundations for an advanced warning system in the Mediterranean region to deal with severe weather events

A multi-scale modelling framework to guide management of plant invasions in a transboundary context

Background Attention has recently been drawn to the issue of transboundary invasions, where species introduced and naturalized in one country cross international borders and become problematic in neighbouring countries. Robust modelling frameworks, able to identify the environmental drivers of invasion and forecast the current and future potential distribution of invasive species, are needed to study and manage invasions. Limitations due to the lack of species distribution and environmental data, or assumptions of modelling tools, often constrain the reliability of model predictions. Methods We present a multiscale spatial modelling framework for transboundary invasions, incorporating robust modelling frameworks (Multimodel Inference and Ensemble Modelling) to overcome some of the limitations. The framework is illustrated using Hakea sericea Schrad. (Proteaceae), a shrub or small tree native to Australia and invasive in several regions of the world, including the Iberian Peninsula. Two study scales were considered: regional scale (western Iberia, including mainland Portugal and Galicia) and local scale (northwest Portugal). At the regional scale, the relative importance of environmental predictors sets was evaluated and ranked to determine the main general drivers for the species distribution, while the importance of each environmental predictor was assessed at the local scale. The potential distribution of H. sericea was spatially projected for both scale areas. Results Model projections for western Iberia suggest that a large area is environmentally suitable in both Portugal and Spain. Climate and landscape composition sets were the most important determinants of this regional distribution of the species. Conversely, a geological predictor (schist lithology) was more important in explaining its local-scale distribution. Conclusions After being introduced to Portugal, H. sericea has become a transboundary invader by expanding in parts of Galicia (Spain). The fact that a larger area is predicted as environmentally suitable in Spain raises concerns regarding its potential continued expansion. This highlights the importance of transboundary cooperation in the early management of invasions. By reliably identifying drivers and providing spatial projections of invasion at multiple scales, this framework provides insights for the study and management of biological invasions, including the assessment of transboundary invasion risk.This work was funded by FEDER funds through the Operational Programme for Competitiveness Factors - COMPETE and by National Funds through FCT - Foundation for Science and Technology under the project PTDC/AAGMAA/4539/2012 / FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-027863 (IND_CHANGE). J. Vicente is supported by POPH/FSE funds and by National Funds through FCT - Foundation for Science and Technology through Post-doctoral grant SFRH/BPD/84044/2012. D.M. Richardson acknowledges support from the DST-NRF Centre of Excellence for Invasion Biology and the National Research Foundation (grant 85417).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Evaluating decadal predictions of northern hemispheric cyclone frequencies

Mid-latitudinal cyclones are a key factor for understanding regional anomalies in primary meteorological parameters such as temperature or precipitation. Extreme cyclones can produce notable impacts on human society and economy, for example, by causing enormous economic losses through wind damage. Based on 41 annually initialised (1961–2001) hindcast ensembles, this study evaluates the ability of a single-model decadal forecast system (MPI-ESM-LR) to provide skilful probabilistic three-category forecasts (enhanced, normal or decreased) of winter (ONDJFM) extra-tropical cyclone frequency over the Northern Hemisphere with lead times from 1 yr up to a decade. It is shown that these predictions exhibit some significant skill, mainly for lead times of 2–5 yr, especially over the North Atlantic and Pacific. Skill for intense cyclones is generally higher than for all detected systems. A comparison of decadal hindcasts from two different initialisation techniques indicates that initialising from reanalysis fields yields slightly better results for the first forecast winter (month 10–15), while initialisation based on an assimilation experiment provides better skill for lead times between 2 and 5 yr. The reasons and mechanisms behind this predictive skill are subject to future work. Preliminary analyses suggest a strong relationship of the model’s skill over the North Atlantic with the ability to predict upper ocean temperatures modulating lower troposphere baroclinicity for the respective area and time scales