Ensemble-Based Gravity Wave Parameter Retrieval for Numerical Weather Prediction

Gravity wave (GW) momentum and energy deposition are large components of the momentum and heat budgets of the stratosphere and mesosphere, affecting predictability across scales. Since weather and climate models cannot resolve the entire GW spectrum, GW parameterizations are required. Tuning these parameterizations is time-consuming and must be repeated whenever model configurations are changed. We introduce a self-tuning approach, called GW parameter retrieval (GWPR), applied when the model is coupled to a data assimilation (DA) system. A key component of GWPR is a linearized model of the sensitivity of model wind and temperature to the GW parameters, which is calculated using an ensemble of nonlinear forecasts with perturbed parameters. GWPR calculates optimal parameters using an adaptive grid search that reduces DA analysis increments via a cost-function minimization. We test GWPR within the Navy Global Environmental Model (NAVGEM) using three latitude-dependent GW parameters: peak momentum flux, phase-speed width of the Gaussian source spectrum, and phase-speed weighting relative to the source-level wind. Compared to a baseline experiment with fixed parameters, GWPR reduces analysis increments and improves 5-day mesospheric forecasts. Relative to the baseline, retrieved parameters reveal enhanced source-level fluxes and westward shift of the wave spectrum in the winter extratropics, which we relate to seasonal variations in frontogenesis. The GWPR reduces stratospheric increments near 60 degrees S during austral winter, compensating for excessive baseline nonorographic GW drag. Tropical sensitivity is weaker due to significant absorption of GW in the stratosphere, resulting in less confidence in tropical GWPR values.