Dr. Ronald Errico received a B.S. in physics from the University of Arizona in 1974, where he also took several graduate courses in meteorology. His Ph. D. in meteorology was received in 1979 from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. With E.N. Lorenz as his adviser, his thesis entitled "The partitioning of energy between geostrophic and ageostrophic modes" examined the fundamentals of why the atmosphere is quasi-geostrophic. It won the department's award for best thesis that year at the recommendation of Jules Charney. Applications of his thesis have continued throughout his career. After completing his degree, Ron joined the Advanced Study Program at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) as a postdoc, followed by a staff appointment in 1981 within NCAR's Large Scale Dynamics Section of its Atmospheric Analysis and Prediction Division. In 1994 he was appointed Senior Scientist in the Climate and Global Dynamics Division there. During his tenure at NCAR, Ron had sabbaticals from NCAR at the Naval Research Laboratory in Monterey from March 1989 to April 1990 and at ECMWF for 7 months in 1996. He left NCAR in July 2002 to join GEST and later GESTAR to work at NASA's Global Modeling and Assimilation Office. Since 1992, he has been chief organizer of 15 international workshops concerned with data assimilation, including 8 of the 9 International Workshops on the Application of Adjoint Models in Dynamic Meteorology. His past work has included examination of atmospheric balance, development and application of atmospheric adjoint models, atmospheric predictability, scale analysis, regional climate modeling, and data assimilation. This last includes design and application of observing system simulation experiments.
Observation System Simulation Experiments
Development of validation methodologies and applications to operational systems
Adjoint methods
Development of adjoint models for a broad set of applications in predictability theory, synoptic analysis, data sensitivity, parameter estimation, and variational 4-dimensional data assimilation.
Data assimilation
Evaluation of current data assimilation systems and development of new verification, analysis, and initialization techniques
Normal mode initialization
Establishment of the basis, limitations, and methodology of initialization in global and mesoscale models. : Investigation of the fundamental processes affecting large-scale gravity waves, including resonant convective forcing, wave--wave interaction, and quasi-geostrophic dynamics
Atmospheric predictability
Investigations of the limitations of predictability on various time an space scales
Applications of Statistics
Examination of fundamental issues of statistical applications to the dynamical forecast and data assimilation problems, including determination of representative probability density functions and stochastic elements of parameterization schemes.
1993 – 2000 University of Oklahoma, Adjunct Associate Professor of Meteorology (served on PH.D. committee)
1991 – 1993 Colorado State University, Adjunct Associate Professor of Meteorology (served on PH.D. committee)
1988 – 1996 University of Utah, Adjunct Professor of Meteorology (served on Ph. D. committees and as guest lecturer)
1986 – 1988 Naval Postgraduate School, Guest Lecturer in Meteorology.
1973 – 1974 University of Arizona. Teaching Assistant in Department of Physics (first undergraduate in this role; responsible for three lab classes)
Development and applications of Observing System Simulation Experiments (OSSEs) at the GMAO
OSSEs are intended to simulate the atospheric data assimilation problem. Instead of using real observations, simulated ones having simulted errors are created from a simulation of nature produced by a high-reolution, long-running, atmsopheric model. Being simulations, they are not restricted to consideration of real observations and therefore the potential effects of future observations can be explored. Also, since thruth is precisely known in the simulation context, analysis and forecast errors can be explicitly calculated. These 2 properties of OSSEs can assist the rational design and selction of new observing systems and the evaluation of present data assimilation systems.
Ph.D. 1979 Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Meteorology (E.N. Lorenz as advisor)
B.A. 1974 University of Arizona, Physics
5/2011
-
Present
Senior Research Scientist
Goddard Earth Sciences Technology and Research Center, Morgan State University,
Global Modeling and Assimilation Office, NASA GSFC
7/2002
-
5/2011
Senior Research Scientist
Goddard Earth Sciences and Technology Center, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
,
Global Modeling and Assimilation Office, NASA GSFC
10/1979
-
7/2002
Senior Scientist (since 1994)
National Center for Atmospheric Research
,
Boulder CO Joined as a postdoc in the Advanced Studies program. Became a staff scientist in 1981.
3/1996
-
10/1996
Visiting Scientist
European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasts
,
Reading England Joined as a postdoc in the Advanced Studies program. Became a staff scientist in 1981.
3/1989
-
4/1990
Visiting Scientist
Naval Environmental Prediction Research Facility
,
Monterey CA Joined as a postdoc in the Advanced Studies program. Became a staff scientist in 1981.
9/1974
-
10/1979
Graduate Resaerch Assistant
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
,
Cambridge MA Joined as a postdoc in the Advanced Studies program. Became a staff scientist in 1981.
Co- Chief Organizer, Workshop on Meteorological Sensitivity Analysis and Data
Assimilation, Roanoke WV, June 2015.
Chief Organizer, Ninth Workshop on Adjoint Applications in Dynamic Meteorology,
Cefalu, Italy, October 2011.
Organizing committee member, ECMWF-JCSDA Workshop on the Assimilation of
Satellite Observations in Areas of Cloudiness or Precipitation into NWP, ECMWF,
Reading, England, June 2010.
Chief Organizer, Eighth Workshop on Adjoint Applications in Dynamic
Meteorology, Tannersville, Pennsylvania, 13-18 May 2009.
Organizing committee member, WWRP/THORPEX Workshop on 4D-VAR and
Ensemble Kalman Filter Inter-Comparisons. Buenos Aires, Argentina, 10-13
November 2008.
Co-Chief Organizer, Seventh Workshop on Adjoint Applications in Dynamic
Meteorology, Obergurgl, Tyrol, Austria, October 2006.
Co-Chief Organizer, The International Workshop on Assimilation of Satellite
Cloud and Precipitation Observations in NWP Models, Lansdowne, Virginia, May
2005.
Chief Organizer, Sixth Workshop on Adjoint Applications in Dynamic Meteorology,
Acquafredda di Maratea, Italy, May 2004.
Chief Organizer, Fifth Workshop on Adjoint Applications in Dynamic Meteorology,
Mount Bethel, Pennsylvania, April 2002.
Co-Organizer, Workshop on Atmospheric Predictability, Monterey, California, April
2001.
Chief Organizer, Fourth Workshop on Adjoint Applications in Dynamic
Meteorology, Moliets, France, June 2000.
Co-chief Organizer for Second Workshop on Optimal Assimilation of Satellite
Observations, College Park, Maryland, October 1999.
Chief Organizer for Workshop on Optimal Assimilation of Satellite Observations for
Atmospheric Analysis, NASA, Greenbelt, MD, April 1998.
Organizing committee for USWRP Workshop on Data Assimilation, Monterey,
California, December 1997.
Organizing committee for the Third Workshop on Adjoint Applications in Dynamic
Meteorology, Quebec Canada, June 1997.
Member of Program Committee for the WMO International Workshop on Limited--
Area and Variable Resolution Models, Beijing, China, October 1995.
Chief Organizer, Workshop on New Data Assimilation Techniques, Monterey,
California, July 1995.
Member of Program Committee for 10th AMS Conference on Numerical Weather
Prediction, Portland, OR, 1994.
Organizer, 2nd Workshop on Adjoint Applications in Dynamic Meteorology,
Visegrad, Hungary, May 1993.
Chief Organizer, Workshop on Data Assimilation for EOS, Greenbelt, Maryland,
May 1993.
Chief Organizer, Workshop on Adjoint Applications in Dynamic Meteorology,
Pacific Grove, CA, August 1992.
Member of the Science Steering Committee for the Joint Center for Satellite data
Assimilation (2004—2008).
Guest editor for a special issue of Meteorologische Zeitschrift (2007).
Member of the Steering Committee for the UCAR Visiting Research Program for
Senior and Postdoctoral Scientists (1989--1990, 1993--1997).
Member of NOAA’s Severe Weather Initiative Review Panel, 1996.
2008 The NASA/GMAO/SRT Outstanding Performance Award
2006 Award for Best Popular Science Abstract in Earth-Sun Exploration
Division at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
2005 The NASA/GMAO/SRT Outstanding Performance Award
1994 Alan Berman Research Publication Award, given by the
Department of the Navy, Naval Research Laboratory
1993 Outstanding Publication Award, Honorable Mention, National
Center for Atmospheric Research
1980 Carl Gustav Rossby Award for best thesis, Department of
Meteorology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
1973 Frank M. Life memorial Scholarship for Merit, University of Arizona
Refereed
Errico, R. M., N. C. Privé, and W. Gu. 2015. "Use of an OSSE to evaluate background-error covariances estimated by the NMC method."
Q.J.R. Meteorol. Soc.,
141:
611-618
[10.1002/qj.2384]
Errico, R. M., and N. C. Prive. 2014. "An estimate of some analysis-error statistics using the Global Modeling and Assimilation Office observing-system simulation framework."
Q.J.R. Meteorol. Soc.,
140
(680):
1005-1012
[10.1002/qj.2180]
Prive, N. C., R. M. Errico, and K.-S. Tai. 2014. "The Impact of Increased Frequency of Rawinsonde Observations on Forecast Skill Investigated with an Observing System Simulation Experiment."
Mon. Weather Rev.,
142
(5):
1823-1834
[10.1175/MWR-D-13-00237.1]
Holdaway, D. R., R. M. Errico, R. Gelaro, and J. G. Kim. 2014. "Inclusion of Linearized Moist Physics in NASA’s Goddard Earth Observing System Data Assimilation Tools."
Mon. Weather Rev.,
142
(1):
414-433
[10.1175/MWR-D-13-00193.1]
Privé, N. C., and R. M. Errico. 2013. "The role of model and initial condition error in numerical weather forecasting investigated with an observing system simulation experiment."
Tellus A,
65:
21740
[10.3402/tellusa.v65i0.21740]
Privé, N. C., R. M. Errico, and K.-S. Tai. 2013. "The influence of observation errors on analysis error and forecast skill investigated with an observing system simulation experiment."
J. Geophys. Res. Atmos.,
118
(11):
5332-5346
[10.1002/jgrd.50452]
Prive, N. C., R. M. Errico, and K.-S. Tai. 2013. "Validation of the forecast skill of the Global Modeling and Assimilation Office Observing System Simulation Experiment."
Q.J.R. Meteorol. Soc.,
139
(674):
1354-1363
[10.1002/qj.2029]
Errico, R. M., R. Yang, N. C. Prive, et al. 2013. "Development and validation of observing-system simulation experiments at NASA's Global Modeling and Assimilation Office."
Q.J.R. Meteorol. Soc.,
139
(674):
1162-1178
[10.1002/qj.2027]
