Atmospheric Modeling and Weather Forecasting Group - AM&WFG
Group Leader:
Dr. G. Kallos, Professor and Head of the AM&WFG
Research Scientists:
Dr. C. Kalogeri , Dr. P.Patlakas , Dr. C. Stathopoulos , MSc D. Diamantis , MSc I.Chaniotis , BSc K. Kornilakis
Expertise and experience of the organization
Research activity: The Atmospheric Modeling and Weather Forecasting Group (AM&WFG) is a research team of the Department of Physics of National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA). The AM&WFG has Professor G. Kallos as leader, 4 Senior and Post Doctorate researchers and Research Associates, 1 PhD candidate, 2 Information Technology experts (MSc and BSc) and a number of MSc students working on various projects funded by external sources (EU, USA, Middle East, Greece). The research activities of the group are related to atmospheric dynamics, physics and chemistry, soil dust cycle, climatic variability and wave modelling. Of particular interest are applications related to model development and integrated applications,data assimilation,weather,wave and air quality forecasting,agricultural applications and wind energy. The AM&WFG research activities are within the last 40-year period. During this period a number of modeling tools and integrated systems have been developed. These modeling systems have been implemented and run operationally in a number of authorities and institutes worldwide. The most important of these modeling products are listed below:
The SKIRON/Dust modeling system: This is an integrated limited area modeling system developed by the AM&WFG. It is the first integrated limited area modeling system for regular weather prediction and dust cycle in the atmosphere. This development has been made at the framework of MEDUSE, ADIOS and SKIRON projects funded by EU. SKIRON is a unique modeling system that provides dust load concentration and deposition forecasts worldwide. It is in operational use by the AM&WFG (http://forecast.uoa.gr) with more than 15.000 visitors per day. It is installed and used operationally in many places and countries.
The RAMS/ICLAMS system (The Integrated Community Limited Area Modeling System based on RAMS): This system has been developed initially at the framework of CIRCE project and continued afterwards. It is based on the RAMS modeling system and includes several other capabilities. The most important of them are:
- Direct coupling of the dust cycle with 8-size bins
- Direct coupling of the sea salt cycle with 2-size bins
- Direct coupling of the gas, aqueous chemistry, gas to particle conversion and heterogeneous chemistry
- Detailed cloud microphysical scheme with 7 categories of hydrometeors
- Treatment of CCN, GCCN, IN as predictive quantities
- State of the art radiation scheme (RRTM)
- Aerosol Radiation-Cloud-Precipitation interactions
The Mercury Modeling System : Both modeling systems SKIRON and RAMS have been used in order to develop two modeling systems appropriate for simulations of the mercury cycle in the atmosphere. This development was performed at the framework of MAMCS , MERCYMS and NYSERDA projects .
POSEIDON system: This is an integrated marine weather and sea state forecasting system that is in operational use at the Hellenic Centre for Marine Research (HCMR). It is based on SKIRON/DUST modeling system.
NHREAS forecasting system: This is an integrated high-resolution weather and sea state forecasting system that was developed initially for the Hellenic National Meteorological Service for optimal routing and ship safety operations (integration of LAPS, RAMS and WAM models). The system is used also from the DANAOS SHIPPING&SOFTWARE for optimal routing on worldwide basis.
WAM system: It is a state of the art wave analysis and prediction model with some unique capabilities. It is fully parallelized, running on nesting form and has an advanced data assimilation system. It is fully coupled with RAMS/ICLAMS model for air-sea interaction research.
Mediterranean Air Quality Forecasting System: The AM&WFG has developed an air quality forecasting system for the Mediterranean Region. This system is based on the CAMx, SKIRON/Dust and RAMS/ICLAMS models. A similar system has been developed for the Arabian Peninsula and State of Texas.
Weather Forecasting Activities for Athens Olympics 2004: The AM&WFG had developed and operated the weather, wave and air quality forecasts for Athens Olympics 2004. The contract was with the Ministry of Culture/General Secretariat for Athens Olympics, the Organization ATHENS2004 and the Hellenic National Meteorological Service (HNMS). This forecasting system is based on the SKIRON/Dust, NHREAS and WAM models. Elements of this system are set up in operation for various olympic organizations to support specific athletic teams .
WASSF I & II system: This is an integrated system developed for the oil industry of Saudi Arabia. It includes weather, dust, floods, wave, sea currents and tides forecasts that are based on SKIRON/Dust, RAMS/ICLAMS, LAPS, WAM, MICOM and CREST models.
Qatar Regional Modeling System (QRM): It is an integrated forecasting system developed for Qatar Civil Aviation Authority/Meteorology Department. The system includes weather, dust, floods, wave, sea currents and tides forecasts that are based on SKIRON/Dust, RAMS/ICLAMS, LAPS, WAM and MICOM models.
MARINA PLATFORM: Marine Renewable Integrated Application Platform (MARINA Platform). Development of a large online database(20 years) for high resolution wind, wave, currents and tidal data for North Atlantic, Mediterranean and Black Sea. FP7 FP7-ENERGY - Project 241402.
SAUDI ARABIA CLIMATIC DATABASE: The AM&WFG developed a 30-year meteorological and dust climatological database of high spatial and temporal resolution. It includes several meteorological and dust parameters. Timeseries and summary reports are easily prepared. It is used for several engineering applications in Saudi Arabia and nearby countries.
ENI marine forecasts: Weather forecasting for 18 locations around the earth.This forecasting system is set up and runs operationally for the ENI oil Company of Italy .
Infrastructure
The AM&WFG is hosted at the Division of Environmental Physics-Meteorology of NKUA. It has high speed network connection to support services worldwide. More specifically it has the necessary hardware and software for both R&D and operations. The AM&WFG has considerable computing infrastructure that is used for R&D and NWP operations. The infrastructure includes a cluster with 2048 intel cores in 48 nodes, highspeed internal network and 380 TB online storage and a number of dedicated servers and workstations. The entire system is supported with UPS systems and backup generator that guarantees 24/7 availability. It has also a number of workstations with different configurations. The computer cluster is supported with the necessary cooling systems.
Participation in research projects
The AM&WFG was involved in several large European programs such as MARINA, WAUDIT, EMODNET/MEDSEA , EMODNET/BLACKSEA, ENI limited areas forecasts, POWWOW, INSEA, IRPWIND, Earth2Observe, OPERANDUM. Also, WASSF I&II, OMMS, Aerosol Characterization, Fog and Flash-flood Forecasting in Saudi Arabia. QRM-the Weather,dust,wave and sea current forecasting system of Qatar. In the past it had participated in SECAP, T-TRAPEM (AVICENNE), MEDUSE, CARL, MAMCS, SUB-AERO, ADIOS, AUTOHAZARD-PRO, ENVIWAVE, MERCYMS, ANEMOS, MFSTEP etc. It also took part in the AUTO OIL I and II projects of DG-XI. In addition to this involvement, the AM&WFG participated in a number of projects in USA such as the NARSTO project (Ozone study over NE USA) and the Mercury budget over NE USA. National projects like SKIRON, NHREAS, POSEIDON, PYTHAGORAS, etc. These activities brought significant research experience to the members of the groups. The AM&WFG participated in the CESTM/ASRC project funded by EPRI on weather and air quality forecasting over NE USA.