Seminar: CPS Seminar
date: 2022 July 19 (TUE) 15:30-17:30
Room: Online seminar (Zoom)
Speaker: YOSHIDA Satoru (Senior Researcher, Department of Observation and Data Assimilation Research, Meteorological Research Institute, Japan Meteorological Agency)
Title: "Development of water vapor lidars and its application for improving heavy precipitation forecasts"
Abstract: Mesoscale convective systems (MCS) are occasionally related to localized heavy precipitation and flash floods. Therefore, improving heavy precipitation forecasts associated with MCSs are vital in Japan. Since moisture inflows in low-level are one of the important parameters involved in the formation of MCSs, to detect and assimilate low-level moisture profile are prospective methods for better forecasting heavy precipitation. We have been developing water vapor lidars that observe vertical profiles of water vapor. To clarify the characteristics of low-level moisture structure and demonstrate data assimilation of water vapor vertical profiles, we conducted field observations with the water vapor lidars in Kanto since 2017 and in Kyushu since 2020. We succeeded in observing increase of water vapor in the inflow side of heavy precipitation. Data assimilation of water vapor vertical profiles obtained with the lidar improved forecasting of six-hour precipitation amount slightly. In this seminar, I’d like to talk about development of the water vapor lidars, and recent results of the water vapor lidar observations and data assimilation obtained in the field campaigns.
Keywords: Water vapor lidar observation, local heavy precipitation, data assimilation
Organizer: HAYASHI Yoshi-Yuki