Potential Impact of COSMIC GPS Radio Occultation Data on Regional

A major challenge for operational numerical weather prediction over the Antarctic and Southern Ocean is the lack of traditional meteorological observations. This increases uncertainty in the model initial condition and results in inferior forecast skills as compared with numerical weather prediction in mid-latitudes over the Northern Hemisphere. With the lack of traditional observations over the Antarctic and the Southern Ocean, and with the difficulty in significantly augmenting traditional observations, the optimal use of satellite data is about the only path available to improve operational numerical weather prediction.