Articles | Volume 11, issue 7
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-4239-2018
© Author(s) 2018. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-4239-2018
© Author(s) 2018. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
19 Jul 2018
Research article |
| 19 Jul 2018
| 19 Jul 2018
Estimating observation and model error variances using multiple data sets
COSMIC Program Office, University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado, USA
Therese Rieckh
COSMIC Program Office, University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado, USA
Wegener Center for Climate and Global Change, University of Graz, Graz, Austria
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- Assessment of the relative impact of the assimilation of Global Navigation Satellite System Radio Occultation (GNSS-RO) and Radiosonde data in the NCMRWF Global NWP system S. Purwar & S. Rani https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosres.2025.108629
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- Applications of the Three-cornered Hat Method to the Error Variance Estimations of FY-4A Atmospheric Temperature Profiles Y. Zhang et al. https://doi.org/10.1080/07055900.2022.2096559
28 citations as recorded by crossref.
- Impact of Uncertainty in Precipitation Forcing Data Sets on the Hydrologic Budget of an Integrated Hydrologic Model in Mountainous Terrain A. Schreiner‐McGraw & H. Ajami https://doi.org/10.1029/2020WR027639
- How far can the statistical error estimation problem be closed by collocated data? A. Vogel & R. Ménard https://doi.org/10.5194/npg-30-375-2023
- A Thorough Evaluation of the Passive Microwave Radiometer Measurements onboard Three Fengyun-3 Satellites X. Xia et al. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13351-023-2198-3
- An assessment of reprocessed GPS/MET observations spanning 1995–1997 A. Mannucci et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-4971-2022
- How to Retain Cloud-Affected but Informative Data in Quality Control of GNSS Radio Occultation Bending Angle Observation: A New Localized Method X. Wang & X. Zou https://doi.org/10.1007/s13351-026-5181-y
- Estimating COSMIC ionospheric radio occultation foF2 error using the three-cornered hat method S. Zhang et al. https://doi.org/10.1051/swsc/2025055
- Evaluation of biases and uncertainties in ROMEX radio occultation observations R. Anthes et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-6997-2025
- Estimating the accuracy of NmF2 at low latitudes from COSMIC2, ionosonde and a neural network-based model by three-corner-hat method M. Wu et al. https://doi.org/10.1109/LGRS.2026.3680481
- Overview and New Opportunities for Multi-Source Data Assimilation X. Zou https://doi.org/10.1007/s13351-025-4140-3
- Sensitivity of Forward-Modeled Bending Angles to Vertical Interpolation of Refractivity for Radio Occultation Data Assimilation S. Gilpin et al. https://doi.org/10.1175/MWR-D-18-0223.1
- Assessment of FY-3E GNOS II Radio Occultation Data Using an Improved Three-Cornered Hat Method J. Liang et al. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs16203808
- Evaluation and Assimilation of the COSMIC‐2 Radio Occultation Constellation Observed Atmospheric Refractivity in the WRF Data Assimilation System R. Singh et al. https://doi.org/10.1029/2021JD034935
- Measuring the Confidence of Single-Point Traffic Forecasting Models: Techniques, Experimental Comparison, and Guidelines Toward Their Actionability I. Laña et al. https://doi.org/10.1109/TITS.2024.3375936
- Evaluating two methods of estimating error variances using simulated data sets with known errors T. Rieckh & R. Anthes https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-4309-2018
- The Three-Cornered Hat Method for Estimating Error Variances of Three or More Atmospheric Data Sets – Part II: Evaluating Radio Occultation and Radiosonde Observations, Global Model Forecasts, and Reanalyses T. Rieckh et al. https://doi.org/10.1175/JTECH-D-20-0209.1
- Evaluating the three-cornered hat method for hourly satellite precipitation fusion in hydrological forecasting: A case study in a Tropical Andean Basin P. Luna Abril et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejrh.2026.103163
- Marginalized iterative ensemble smoothers for data assimilation A. Stordal et al. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10596-023-10242-1
- Comparison of COSMIC and COSMIC-2 Radio Occultation Refractivity and Bending Angle Uncertainties in August 2006 and 2021 R. Anthes et al. https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos13050790
- Quality Assessment and Observation Error Estimation of Tianmu-1 GNSS Radio Occultation Bending Angle and Refractivity Retrievals L. Wang et al. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs18152572
- An intercomparison of four gridded precipitation products over Europe using an extension of the three-cornered-hat method L. Lledó et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-28-5149-2024
- Assessment of observation errors in AWS data assimilation: Application to a thunderstorm gale event forecast D. Xu et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosres.2025.108653
- Estimating the observation errors of FY-3C radio occultation dataset using the three-cornered hat method J. Zhang et al. https://doi.org/10.1007/s44195-023-00054-2
- Assessment of the relative impact of the assimilation of Global Navigation Satellite System Radio Occultation (GNSS-RO) and Radiosonde data in the NCMRWF Global NWP system S. Purwar & S. Rani https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosres.2025.108629
- Global 3D Features of Error Variances of GPS Radio Occultation and Radiosonde Observations X. Xu & X. Zou https://doi.org/10.3390/rs13010001
- Quality assessment of YUNYAO radio occultation data in the neutral atmosphere X. Xu et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-1339-2025
- Quality assessment of GNSS-RO neutral atmosphere refractivity data from YUNYAO mission J. Zhu et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asr.2026.04.078
- Performance assessment of radio occultation data from GeoOptics by comparing with COSMIC data H. Chang et al. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40623-022-01667-6
- Applications of the Three-cornered Hat Method to the Error Variance Estimations of FY-4A Atmospheric Temperature Profiles Y. Zhang et al. https://doi.org/10.1080/07055900.2022.2096559
Saved (final revised paper)
Latest update: 03 Sep 2026
Short summary
We show how multiple data sets, including observations and models, can be combined using the "N-cornered hat method" to estimate vertical profiles of the errors of each system. Using data from 2007, we estimate the error variances of radio occultation, radiosondes, ERA-Interim, and GFS model data sets at four radiosonde locations in the tropics and subtropics. A key assumption is the neglect of error correlations among the different data sets, and we examine the consequences of this assumption.
We show how multiple data sets, including observations and models, can be combined using the...
