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    Original Research Papers

    Intermediate time error growth and predictability: tropics versus mid-latitudes

    Authors:

    David M. Straus ,

    George Mason University MSN 6A2, Fairfax, VA 22030, US
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    Dan Paolino

    Center for Ocean-Land-Atmosphere Studies, 4041 Powder Mill Rd. Suite 302, Calverton, MD 2075, US
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    Abstract

    The evolution of identical twin errors from an atmospheric general circulation model is studied in the linear range (small errors) through intermediate times and the approach to saturation. Between forecast day 1 and 7, the normalized error variance in the tropics is similar to that at higher latitudes. After that, tropical errors grow more slowly. The predictability time τ taken for tropical errors to reach half their saturation values is larger than that for mid-latitudes, especially for the planetary waves, thus implying greater potential predictability in the tropics.

    The discrepancy between mid-latitude and tropical τ is more pronounced at 850 hPa than at 200 hPa, is largest for the planetary waves, and is more pronounced for errors arising from wave phase differences (than from wave amplitude differences).

    The spectra of the error in 200 hPa zonal wind show that for forecast times up to about 5 d, the tropical error peaks at much shorter scales than the mid-latitude errors, but that subsequently tropical and mid-latitude error spectra look increasingly similar.

    The difference between upper and lower level tropical τ may be due to the greater influence of mid-latitudes at the upper levels.

    How to Cite: Straus, D.M. and Paolino, D., 2009. Intermediate time error growth and predictability: tropics versus mid-latitudes. Tellus A: Dynamic Meteorology and Oceanography, 61(5), pp.579–586. DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0870.2009.00411.x
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      Published on 01 Jan 2009
    Peer Reviewed
     CC BY 4.0
     Accepted on 1 Jun 2009            Submitted on 10 Mar 2009

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