The Aeolus satellite was launched successfully by the European Space Agency from the European spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, on 22 August 2018. The mission is expected to improve weather forecasts by providing vital information on winds across the globe.
The first seven months of 2018 at ECMWF have seen a major upgrade of the Integrated Forecasting System; a series of events to drive forward numerical weather prediction; the launch of the Climate Data Store; and the appointment of a new Director of Computing.
ECMWF has substantially increased the amount of weather prediction data it makes available free of charge to Members of the World Meteorological Organization. The provision of the data is part of the Centre’s obligations as a World Meteorological Centre.
The summer 2018 issue of the ECMWF Newsletter is now available. As well as news about ECMWF staff and events, it features articles about new developments and the use that can be made of ECMWF products.
Finding better ways to couple small-scale physical processes and large-scale atmospheric dynamics in Earth system models could help to improve global weather forecasts, according to experts meeting at ECMWF from 10 to 12 July.
Registration for ECMWF’s 2018 Annual Seminar on Earth system assimilation closes on Friday, 27 July. Attendance is free for participants from ECMWF’s Member and Co-operating States.
Participants in this year’s ECMWF user meeting from 5 to 8 June 2018 tested the use of virtual reality to visualise weather data. They also heard about ECMWF product updates and showed software or services developed in ECMWF’s Member and Co-operating States.
Dr Martin Palkovič has been appointed to become ECMWF’s next Director of Computing from 1 October 2018. He succeeds Prof. Adrian Wander, who will step down after a transition period to ensure a seamless handover.
Thirty years ago ECMWF started a major project to rewrite the computer code of its forecasting system. One of the key players in the project, Mats Hamrud, says the system he and his colleagues went on to develop has stood the test of time but needs to keep evolving to meet new challenges.
Accurate and timely weather data from across the globe are crucial for numerical weather prediction. In a welcome development, Ukraine has recently begun to provide additional weather station observations to ECMWF in real time.
Europe’s Climate Data Store (CDS), launched today, is a one-stop-shop for past, present and future climate information. The CDS greatly improves access to climate data and tools, is open and free for all to use, and will change the ways in which society can benefit from Earth observations and climate science.
Since 5 June 2018, rapid interactions between the ocean, sea ice and the atmosphere have been included in ECMWF’s highest-resolution weather forecasts. ECMWF scientist Kristian Mogensen has helped to make this latest move towards seamless Earth system modelling.
A wide-ranging upgrade of ECMWF’s Integrated Forecasting System (IFS), implemented on 5 June 2018, brings better global weather forecasts, with particularly consistent gains in the extended range.
More than 90 data enthusiasts will converge on the Centre on 9 and 10 June 2018 for a hackathon weekend to develop innovative climate data applications. They will be able to test the capabilities of the brand new Climate Data Store (CDS).
Sunday 13 May marks the 20th anniversary of the start of a new era in meteorological satellite observations. On 13 May 1998, the NOAA-15 satellite was launched, beginning the ATOVS series of satellite observations that continues to this day.
Registration for a workshop on physics–dynamics coupling (PDC18) from 10 to 12 July 2018 at ECMWF remains open until 1 June. The workshop will address challenges in coupling the growing number of Earth system processes represented in weather and climate models.
The next generation of numerical weather prediction (NWP) systems will be based on highly parallel and flexible data structures. Willem Deconinck is at the forefront of developing the necessary numerical techniques and software tools.
ECMWF’s Annual Seminar 2018 will be devoted to the assimilation of observations to initialise forecasts of the different components of the Earth system. Registration is open until 27 July.
The spring 2018 issue of the ECMWF Newsletter is now available. As well as news about ECMWF staff and events, it features articles about new developments and the use that can be made of ECMWF products.