of Ambiguity in Ensemble Forecasts Tony Eckel National Weather Service Office of Science and Technology Silver Spring MD Mark Allen Air Force Weather Agency Omaha NE Eckel FA MS Allen and MC ID: 540355
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Slide1
Estimation & Value
of Ambiguity in Ensemble Forecasts
Tony EckelNational Weather Service Office of Science and Technology, Silver Spring, MDMark AllenAir Force Weather Agency, Omaha, NE
Eckel
, F.A., M.S. Allen, and M.C.
Sittel
, 2012: Estimation of ambiguity in ensemble forecasts.
Weather and Forecasting
, in press.
Allen, M.S. and F.A.
Eckel
, 2012: Value from ambiguity in ensemble forecasts.
Weather and Forecasting
, in press.Slide2
Part I.
Estimation of AmbiguitySlide3
Ambiguity
Ambiguity
-- 2nd order uncertainty, or the uncertainty in a statement of uncertainty“Ambiguity is uncertainty about probability, created by missing information that is relevant and could be known.”
--
Camerer
and Weber (
Journal
of Risk and Uncertainty, 1992)
Risk: Probability of an unfavorable outcome from occurrence of a specific event.
Clear Risk
: Probability (or uncertainty) of the event known precisely. EX: Betting at roulette
Ambiguous Risk
:
Probability (or uncertainty) of the event
known
vaguely.
EX: Betting on a
horse
raceSlide4
NCEP SREF
27h Fcst, 12Z, 8 Oct 20112-m Temperature (
F)Ensemble Mean & SpreadEnsemble Standard Deviation (
F)
35
%
15
%
36
F
44
F28FSpokane, WAAmbiguity in Ensemble ForecastsProbability of Freezing @ Surface%25%Spokane, WASlide5
2)
Random PDF Error from Ensemble Design Limitations EX: Ensemble omits perturbations for soil moisture error
1) Good IC and/or no error sensitivity Good forecast PDF
2) Bad IC and/or high error sensitivity
Underspread
forecast PDF
Can’t distinguish,
so PDF error
appears random
Causes of Ambiguity(the “…missing information that is relevant and could be known.”)1)
Random PDF Error from Limited Sampling
0 5 10 15 20 25
Wind Speed (m/s)
True
Forecast PDF
ensemble members
Ensemble’s
Forecast PDF
Ambiguity
Random error in
1
st
order uncertainty estimate
Not
dependent on:
How much
1
st
order uncertainty exists
Systematic error
in 1
st
order uncertainty estimate, which
1
&
2
can also produce Slide6
Shift & Stretch
Calibration
Shift each member (
e
i
) over by a
shift factor
(opposite
of mean error in ensemble mean) to correct for bias in PDF location.
for
i
= 1…n membersSTEP 1 (1st Moment Calibration)
Use the adjusted members to calculate calibrated predictions (mean, spread, probability)STEP 3 (Forecast)Stretch (compress) the shifted members about their mean, , by a stretch factor (inverse sqrt of variance bias) to correct for small (large) ensemble spread:STEP 2 (2nd Moment Calibration)
for
i
= 1…
n
membersSlide7
5.0E4
4
3
2
1
0
BSS
= 0.764
(0.759…0.768)
rel
= 7.89E-4
res = 0.187 unc = 0.245# of Forecasts
5.0E4
4
3
2
1
0
BSS
= 0.768
(0.764…0.772)
rel
= 4.20E-5
res
= 0.188
unc
= 0.245
# of Forecasts
Observed Relative Frequency
Observed Relative Frequency
Raw
Conditionally Calibrated
Forecast Data:
-
JMA 51-member Ensemble, 12Z cycle
-
5-day, 2-m temperature, 1
1
over CONUS
- Independent:
1 – 31 Jan 2009
- Dependent:
15 Dec 2007 – 15 Feb 2008
Ground
Truth:
-
ECMWF global model analysis (0-h forecast)Slide8
Randomly Calibrated Resampling (RCR)
-- based on bootstrap technique 1) From original n members, generate calibrated forecast probability (
pe ) for an event
2) Produce alternative
n
members by sampling originals with replacement
3) Apply random calibration (varied by ensemble’s error characteristics) to
resampled
set to account for ensemble’s insufficient simulation of uncertainty
4) Generate alternative forecast probability for the event
Estimating Ambiguity
999
RCR
p5 = 16.5%pe = 31.3%p5 = 18.9%p95 = 44.2%Forecast Probability (%)Resampling Only
p
e = 31.3%
p
95
= 37.3%
p
5
= 23.7%
Forecast Probability (%)
Frequency
p
e
= 31.3%
p
5
= 17.0%
p
95
= 46.5%
Forecast Probability (%)
CESSlide9
Solid: Raw JMA ensemble’ error distributions, from which the error variance associated with random sampling of a 51-member ensemble (
see below) is removed.Dashed: Produced a random shift factor and stretch factor to randomly calibration each of the 999 resampled forecast sets.
10
20
40
80 members
(Standardized Error in Ensemble Mean)
10
20
40
80 members
(Fractional Error in Ensemble Spread)
Average error determines primary
shift factor and stretch factor Slide10
Part II.
Application of AmbiguitySlide11
Cost-Loss Decision Scenario
Cost (C ) – Expense of taking protective actionLoss (L) – Expense of unprotected event occurrence
Probability ( pe) – The risk, or chance of a bad-weather event
Take protective action whenever
Risk > Risk Tolerance
or
p
e
> C / L…since expense of protecting is less than the expected expense
of getting caught unprotected,
C < L pe Application of AmbiguityC/LRisk Acceptablepe
C
/
L
Decision Unclear
Decision Unclear
C
/
L
p
e
p
e
Forecast
Probability (i.e., Risk)
0.0
1.0
Probability
Density
C
/
L
= 0.35
(Risk Tolerance)
Too Risky
p
e
But given ambiguity in the risk, the appropriate decision can be unclear.
Opposing Risk
:
Fraction of risk that goes against the normative decision. Slide12
The Ulterior Motives Experiment
GOAL: Maintain primary value while improving 2
nd order criteria not considered in primary risk analysis
Event:
F
reezing surface temperature
‘U
ser’:
Specific risk tolerance level (i.e.,
C/L value) at a specific location
2nd Order Criterion: Keep users’ trust by reducing repeat false alarms Forecast Data:
GFS Ensemble Forecast, 5-day, 2-m temperature, 1
1 over CONUS - Independent: 12 UTC daily, 1 – 31 Jan 2009 - Dependent: 12 UTC daily, 15 Dec 2007 – 15 Feb 2008 - Ground Truth: ECMWF global model analysis (0-h forecast)Black: Risk clearly exceeds tolerance PrepareWhite: Risk clearly acceptable Do Not PrepareGray: Decision unclear Preparation Optional Given potential for repeat false alarm, user may go against normative decision.Slide13
8 User Behaviors
Behavior Name Behavior DescriptionSlide14
Ambiguity-Tolerant
Ambiguity-SensitiveBackward
OptimalThreshold of
Opposing Risk (%)
User C/L
The ‘Optimal’ Behavior
Test Value for Threshold of Opposing Risk
Testing for C/L = 0.01
Control’s
POD
Lowest threshold that maintains POD Max. chances to prevent repeat a false alarm Slide15
Measuring Primary Value
Value Score
(or expense skill score)
a
= # of hits
b
= # of false alarms
c
= # of misses
d
= # of correct rejections
=
C
/L ratio = (a+c) / (a+b+c+d)Efcst = Expense from follow the forecastEclim = Expense from follow a climatological forecastEperf = Expense from follow a perfect forecastSlide16
Deterministic
– Normative decisions following GFS calibrated deterministic forecasts Control – Normative decisions following GFS ensemble calibrated probability forecastsValue Score
User C/LMeasuring Primary ValueSlide17
Losers
(w.r.t. primary value)Cynical
FickleUser C/L
Control
Control
Value Score
User C/LSlide18
Marginal Performers
(w.r.t. primary value)Backward
Ambiguity-Sensitive
Optimistic
Control
Control
User C/L
User C/L
Value Score
Value Score
ControlSlide19
Winners
(w.r.t. primary value)Optimal
Ambiguity-TolerantUser C/L
Value Score
User C/L
Control
ControlSlide20
Optimal
BackwardCynical
FickleAmbiguity-Sensitive
Ambiguity-Tolerant
Optimistic
% Reduction in Repeat False Alarms
User C/L
2
nd
Order ValueSlide21
Conclusions
Ambiguity in ensemble forecasts can be effectively estimatedUsers can benefit from ambiguity information through improvement of 2nd order criteria, but that requires lots of creativitySlide22
Backup SlidesSlide23
True Forecast PDF
True forecast PDF recipe for the current forecast cycle and lead time
1) Look back through an infinite history of forecasts produced by the analysis/forecast system in a stable climate 2) Pick out all instances with the same analysis (and resulting forecast) as the current forecast cycle. Note that each analysis, while the same, represents a different true initial state.
3)
Pool all the different
verifying true states at
to construct
the true distribution of possible states at time
Combined effect creates a wider true PDF. Erred model also contributes to analysis error.Erred
Erred
While each matched analysis corresponds to only one true IC,the subsequent forecast can match many different true states due to grid averaging at =0 and/or lack of diffeomorphism. ErredPerfectEach historical analysis match will correspond to a different true initial state, and a different true state at time . PerfectErredOnly one possible true state, so true PDF is a delta function.PerfectPerfect
Analysis Model True Forecast PDF (at a specific
)
Perfect
exactly accurate (with infinitely
precision) Erred
inaccurate, or accurate but discrete
Not absolute
-- depends on uncertainty in ICs and model (better analysis/model = sharper
true forecast
PDF)Slide24
1
st Moment Bias Correction (C)Ensemble Mean (C)(a)
ln(2
nd
Moment Bias Correction)
ln(Ensemble Variance)
(b)Slide25
5.8
6.1 7.3 9.2 9.8 10.0 10.1 11.2
13.8
Forecast Probability (
p
e
)
by
Rank Method
V
: verification value : event threshold n : number of membersxi : value of the ith member
G( ): Gumbel
CDFG’( ): Reversed Gumbel CDF When has a rank >1 but < n When has a rank n When has a rank 1
…or
if
x
is positive definite:
TURB
Fcsts
(calibrated)
:
=
9.0
(the MDT TURB threshold),
p
e
approx. is 6/9 = 66.7%
p
e
= 6/10 +
[
(9.2
–
9.0
) /
(9.2
–
7.3)
] *
1/10 = 61.1% Slide26
Estimating Ambiguity by CES
(Calibrated Error Sampling)Random error (i.e., ambiguity) in pe is tied to random error in any moment of the forecast PDF.
A pe error for any value of the event threshold can be found if the true forecast PDF is known.Eckel and Allen, 2011, WAFSlide27
We never know the true forecast PDF, but we do know the range of possibilities of the true PDF based on the ensemble PDF’s error characteristics:
Each random draw from the ensemble’s PDF errors generates a unique set of pe errors.
Aggregate to form a distribution of pe errors, called an ambiguity PDF.
Spread = 2.0
C
Spread = 6.0
C
Estimating Ambiguity by CESSlide28
Ambiguity PDFs follow the beta distribution.
Estimating Ambiguity by CESSlide29
Optimal
BackwardCynical
Control
Fickle
Optimistic
Cynical
Optimal
Ambiguity-Tolerant
Ambiguity-Sensitive
Backward
*
*
*
oFickleAmbiguity-SensitiveAmbiguity-TolerantOptimistic% Reduction# of Repeat False AlarmsUser C/LUser C/L2nd Order ValueSlide30
(c)
(d)
(a)
(b)Slide31
Visualization of Ambiguity
and
Comparison of CES vs. RCR