Sensitivity of High-Resolution Forecasts Using the Adjoint Technique at the 10-km Scale

This paper provides an experimental framework designed to assess the performance and the evolution of the diabatic Aire Limitee Adaptation Dynamique Developpement International (ALADIN) adjoint model at 10-km grid size. Numerical experiments are carried out with the goal of evaluating the adjoint model solutions and the benefit of employing a complex linearized physical parameterization package in the gradient computation. Sensitivity studies with respect to initial conditions at high resolution on real meteorological events are performed. Numerical results obtained in the gradient computations show that, at high resolution, a strong nonlinear flow over complex orography might be a potential source of numerical instability in the absence of a robust dissipative physics employed in the adjoint model. Also, the scheme of the linearized large-scale precipitation is a source of noise in precipitating areas. The results on one particular case suggest that on the one hand the adjoint model is able to capture the dynamically sensitive area, but on the other hand the subsequent sensitivity forecast is more sensitive to the sign and the amplitude of the initial state perturbation rather than the structure of the gradient field.