Ensemble based prediction of water levels and residual currents in Singapore regional waters for operational forecasting

Abstract

Singapore Strait located between the South China Sea and Andaman Sea is driven by tides coming from both sides and the hydrodynamics in this area is complex. From the viewpoint of long term forecasting, however, models developed for this area suffer from limitations introduced by parametric uncertainty, absence of data for appropriate specification of forcing and lateral boundary conditions. For improving the model forecasts, a data assimilation technique based on ensemble Kalman filter is implemented and applied. Based on the latter, an ensemble based steady state Kalman filter is derived to address the computational limitation for daily operational forecasting. Via a twin experiment on a simulation period that includes a significant storm surge event (sea level anomaly) the skills of both data assimilation schemes are assessed and compared.