Comments on “A More Extensive Investigation of the Use of Ensemble Forecasts for Dispersion Model Evaluation”

Abstract

In discussing the results obtained using the HighResolution Limited-Area Model (HIRLAM), Straume (2001) incorrectly credited to Mesinger (1984) the hybrid coordinate eta, which in the lowermost model layers follows the ground and in the upper layers follows the pressure surfaces. The hybrid coordinate eta with the described properties was proposed by Simmons and Burridge (1981). Although Mesinger considered his procedure to be a definition of a new coordinate and called it ‘‘eta,’’ Mesinger’s ‘‘eta coordinate’’ cannot in a strict sense be considered to be a valid coordinate system, given that it has continuum singularities above the edges