International Cooperative for Aerosol Prediction (ICAP)
ICAP is an international forum for aerosol forecast centers, remote sensing data providers,
and lead systems developers to share best practices and discuss pressing issues facing the
operational aerosol community. While the dynamical meteorology community has a well developed
protocols and near real-time observing systems to support forecasting, the aerosol community
is only beginning to organize. Infrastructure and data protocols need to be developed between
operational centers in order to fully support this emerging field.
ICAP 13th Technical Working Group Meeting: Interoperability and the Vertical Dimension, November 8-10, 2023, Darmstadt, Germany
Inquiries:
Angela Benedetti,
Peter Colarco
The purpose of the 13th Working Group Meeting of the International Cooperative for Aerosol Prediction is to survey the state of vertical profile data records and their utilization in informing and evaluating global aerosol prediction models. Challenges include data exchange/interoperability for measurements and models alike, near-real time delivery and utilization of data, ingestion of data into aerosol data assimilation systems, and interoperability to foster wide utility of these data products across divergent model platforms and in conjunction with synergistic datasets. Expert talks will be invited related to aerosol remote sensing, data assimilation, and modeling, and the meeting will as well update on the progress of the individual aerosol modeling centers.
Announcement
ICAP 12th Technical Working Group Meeting: 10 Years of a Global Aerosol Forecast Community: What's next?
Tentative-Oct. 18-21, 2022, Monterey, CA
Inquiries:
Jeffrey S. Reid,
Taichu Y. Tanaka,
Peter Colarco,
Angela Benedetti
At the 10 year anniversary of ICAP, the meeting returns to Monterey CA to evaluate how the global aerosol community has developed, and what are the needs and challenges of the decade to come. Topics include: Next generation satellite sensors, retrievals, and anticipated data assimilation technologies; Aerosol medium range and seasonal forecasting within global NWP models; Continued development of multi model consensus products and ensembles; Incorporation of ground network information into aerosol systems; Big data analysis, sharing and archival best practices; More unified data conventions and verification metrics.
Meeting PDFs
ICAP 11th Working Group Meeting: Utilization of the new observations from the next generation of GEO and LEO platforms, July 22 - 24, Tsukuba
Inquiries:
Taichu Y. Tanaka
The arrival of high-quality, high time frequency aerosol observations from geostationary platforms
such as Himawari and GOES-16 presents new opportunities and challenges to the aerosol prediction community.
How much data is practically available from these sensors? How do we assure the quality and consistency of
these datasets both internally and across platforms? How are these data to be utilized with an evolving set
of LEO sensors to provide the best constraints on global aerosol forecasting systems? The purpose of this
11th Working Group Meeting of the International Cooperative for Aerosol Prediction (ICAP) is to review the
state of the art in aerosol remote sensing, particularly as relates to these new geostationary capabilities
'and how they are used in conjunction with long established ground- and LEO observing systems to inform
aerosol data assimilation systems. Expert talks will be invited related to aerosol remote sensing, data
assimilation, and modeling, and the meeting will as well update on the progress of the individual aerosol
modeling centers.
Announcement
Meeting PDFs
International Cooperative for Aerosol Prediction (ICAP) 10th working group
meeting: Seamless model development: Aerosol modelling across timescales, June 6-8, 2018,
UKMO, Exeter, UK
Inquiries:
Malcolm Brooks,
Jane Mulcahy,
Angela Benedetti
While the direct and indirect radiative effects of aerosol particles have long been a major
focus in the area in climate research, the inclusion of aerosols in Numerical Weather Prediction
(NWP) models has received less attention and development effort. Only recently has there been
significant attention to the question of whether or not the inclusion of aerosol particles in
numerical weather prediction (NWP) models can improve forecasts spanning medium-range to seasonal
time-scales. A further emerging trend among global model development centres is towards a 'seamless'
approach to both NWP and climate model development, whereby models of the atmosphere and wider Earth
system are developed, as much as possible, to meet the both climate and NWP applications. The
particular focus of the 10th working group meeting of the International Cooperative for Aerosol
Prediction (ICAP) is to explore the questions which arise from these trends. In particular, how do
you best develop models for both NWP and climate applications that are consistent across regional
to global scales, and how does this, or should this, work for aerosols in particular?
Announcement
Meeting PDFs
ICAP 9th Working Group Meeting: Radiative Transfer and Impacts of Aerosol
Radiative Forcing on Numerical Weather Prediction: June 26 - 28, 2017, University of Lille, France
Inquiries:
Oleg Dubovik,
Jeff Reid,
Peter Colarco
The purpose of the 9th working group meeting of the International Cooperative for
Aerosol Prediction (ICAP) is to assess the current state of the art and capabilities
of radiative transfer models and techniques as applicable to remote sensing of aerosols
in the Earth system and use in numerical weather prediction (NWP) models. Recent progress
in aerosol remote sensing has placed a considerable demand on radiative transfer forward
modeling capabilities in order to close the observation problem, including the use of
polarimetric and multi-angle measurements and additional consideration of the surface
BRDF. Data assimilation approaches for aerosol prediction models are increasing dependent
themselves on forward modeling observed quantities (i.e., radiance) from the model
fundamental parameters of aerosol mass and composition, including as well how the aerosol
radiances potentially impact the radiance simulation for traditional NWP meteorological
data assimilation (e.g., temperature). Further, the inclusion of aerosol radiative transfer
inline in NWP models permits radiative forcing of the aerosols to feed back on the NWP
solution itself. We will review the current state of the art and current capabilities
of the ICAP and other modeling centers, share recent progress, and plan for the future.
Meeting PDFs
Lidar Data and its use in Model Verification and Data Assimilation: July 12-14, 2016, College Park, MD, USA
Inquiries:
Peter Colarco,
Jun Wang
The International Cooperative for Aerosol Prediction is a grassroots community of
aerosol modelers and data providers that provides a forum to discuss best practices and
find optimal common solutions to the challenges of operational global aerosol
prediction. ICAP has hosted seven meetings with themes ranging from aerosol
observability to aerosol model verification and aerosol ensemble data assimilation and
prediction. Some of the meetings have had a strong impact on the development of new
aerosol products to offer to the user community, for example the establishment of the
ICAP multi-model ensemble (Sessions et al. 2014). Likewise data providers have been
engaging actively within the ICAP framework to provide enhanced in situ and groundbased
observations of high quality and timeliness to meet the assimilation and
verification needs of this community.
The purpose of this meeting is to assess the current status and utility of lidar data for
verification and data assimilation in operational aerosol prediction systems. A number
of coordinated ground-based lidar networks have come online in recent years, and
there have been recent advances in space-based and airborne lidar capabilities.
Increasingly there is recognition among data providers of the value of providing lidar
products to users in near real-time. Operational prediction centers are now developing
techniques to formally assimilate lidar observations into their analyses, and verification
activities are ongoing. There is a need for common understanding of the capabilities
and limitations of these observations in order for them to be properly used in
verification and assimilation efforts. It is an appropriate time to evaluate the current
state of the science in the field, share recent progress, and prepare for the future.
Announcement
Meeting PDFs
Assimilation: June 16-19, 2015, Barcelona, Spain
Inquiries:
oriol.jorba@bsc.es,
sara.basart@bsc.es
The International Cooperative for Aerosol Prediction is a grassroots community of aerosol
modellers and data providers which provide a forum to discuss best practices and find
optimal common solutions to the challenges of operational global aerosol prediction. ICAP
hosted six meetings with themes ranging from aerosol observability to aerosol model
verification and aerosol ensemble data assimilation and prediction. Some of the meetings
had a strong impact on the development of new aerosol products to offer to the user
community, for example the establishment of the ICAP multi-model ensemble (Sessions et al.
2014). Likewise data providers have been engaging actively within the ICAP framework to
provide enhanced in-situ and ground-based observations of high quality and timeliness to
meet the assimilation and verification needs of this community.
The purpose of this meeting is to assess the current status of the aerosol assimilation
at the various centres participating in ICAP and discuss future directions. Product and
radiance assimilation has greatly advanced, and many new products have come online
specifically for operational and quasi- operation developers. Ground based remote sensing
systems are also becoming more attractive to assimilation. Many aerosol developers feel it
is an appropriate time to evaluate the current state of the science in the field, share
recent progress, and prepare for the future.
Meeting PDFs
Validation: October 21-24, 2014 Boulder, CO
Inquiries:
jeffrey.reid@nrlmry.navy.mil,
jensen@ucar.edu
International Cooperative for Aerosol Prediction (ICAP) is an ad hoc aerosol
numerical modeling working group founded by aerosol modeling developers from
the operational Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) centers around the world,
initiated in 2010 by the Naval Research Laboratory, Monterey.
The goal of ICAP members is to understand and simulate the behavior of the
atmosphere and its constituents on local, regional, and global scales,
including its interaction with the ocean, land, cryosphere, and middle
atmosphere; to invent, develop, and implement new capabilities and systems
for objective environmental analysis and prediction; and to integrate new
capabilities into automated systems for assessing risk and analyzing impact
of atmospheric conditions.
As operational aerosol models continue to evolve, leveraging collaborations
with other recognized world experts in operational forecasting spurs further
model and ensemble development; aiding the entire community. Attendance at
the ICAP meeting is through invitation by the meeting host and leads, and
participants are sent by their respective centers.
The primary goal of the 2014 ICAP meeting is development of an agreement on
the complex topic of data verification protocols. The 2014 ICAP meeting
will, as traditional, begin with updates of recent, current, and planned
activities from each operational aerosol forecasting center. Over the
planned meeting days, protocols and methods for the exchange of data among
the research groups will be recommended and updated, and large- and
small-group discussions on key aerosol topics of mutual concern to the ICAP
members will take place. The gathering will end with an understanding for
areas of mutual development for the coming year, collaboration on
international field experiments, and protocols for validation and data
exchanges. Meeting PDFs
Recent Progress in Aerosol Observability for Global Modeling: November 5 – 8, 2013 Tsukuba City, Ibaraki, Japan
Inquiries:
yatanaka@mri-jma.go.jp
In 2010 aerosol forecast developers from many of the world"s forecasting centers
met with remote sensing data providers to discuss the aerosol observability issues
facing the next generation of aerosol forecast systems. This meeting inaugurated
the International Cooperative for Aerosol Prediction, a grass roots community to
share best practices and voice common concern. The purpose of the first meeting
was not to generate a long list of new variables needed by models, but rather to
investigate the continuation and further characterization as to what is available
now and plan for the future. The key issues brought up in presentations and
discussion were those of observational requirements and available data streams
as the field develops from research endeavors, which were supported by research
satellites, to fully operational entites with rigid system and operational
satellite counterparts. Now 3 years later, much has changed in the remote sensing
and observation landscape. NPP has launched, MODIS collection 6 is nearing completion,
and a host of new lidar systems are in production. Product and radiance assimilation
has greatly advanced, and many new products have come online specifically for operational
and quasi-operation developers. Ground based remote sensing systems are also becoming
more attractive to assimilation. Many aerosol developers feel it is an appropriate
time to evaluate the current state of the science in the field, share recent progress,
and prepare for the future.
Announcements
Meeting PDFs
Aerosol Emission and Removal Processes: May 14 – 17, 2012, ESA/ESRIN, Frascati, Italy
Inquiries:
Angela.Benedetti@ecmwf.int
This 4th ICAP meeting will focus on issues and recent advances in the description of
aerosol processes related to production and removal. Some of these issues were identified
at the previous ICAP meeting as crucial to the further development of the forecast
and analysis systems. Most forecast “busts” observed in the aerosol forecasts from
the ICAP models can in fact be ascribed either to a poor representation of the
emissions and/or to the parameterizations related to aerosol sinks (wet deposition,
sedimentation, aqueous chemistry, etc.). Some of these issues are also faced by the
climate modeling community (i.e. AEROCOM). Some mutually beneficial solutions will
be sought through a series of informative invited tutorials, followed by discussions.
Challenges presented by highly temporally varying emission sources, such as wildfires,
will be discussed. State-of-the-art (NRT) emissions methods will be reviewed.
The ICAP meeting will be complemented by a one day workshop on Thursday May 17th on the benefits
of present and future satellite observations in aerosol science, modeling and assimilation with
presentations by ESA, NASA, JAXA representatives and other international satellite data experts.
An update on NPP VIIRS aerosol products will be included. Details will follow.
Announcements
Meetings PDFs
Ensemble Forecasts and Data Assimilation: 11 - 13 May, 2011 Boulder, CO
Inquiries:
peter.r.colarco@nasa.gov
This third meeting of the aerosol forecasting community will focus on the use of ensemble
forecasts to improve event predictability. The NWP community has for some time been exploring
the potential of multi-model ensembles to enhance understanding of forecast uncertainty (e.g.,
the WMO TIGGE project). At the same time, the European air quality community has already implemented
an operational multi-model ensemble of regional forecasting system to enhance air quality forecast
skill, which has been a major achievement both in terms of coordination between different modeling
centers and also with the data providers. Meanwhile, the global aerosol community is just beginning
to explore the possibility of ensembles (e.g., the “AeroCom Median” model, composed of several
independent, deterministic models). So far, however, this latter effort has not been applied to
the issue of predictability, but rather has been focused on “climate” applications (e.g., how
well the ensemble compares to MODIS over the EOS period). Lessons from the NWP and European AQ
communities’ efforts suggest considerations for the aerosol forecasting community, from practical
issues such as assembling the multi-model ensemble from disparate forecasting efforts, to optimal
methods of creating the multi-model ensemble (e.g., bias correction), issues of ensemble data
assimilation, and ultimately the evaluation of the benefit of such a system. This workshop will
be an initial foray into these endeavors.
Announcements
Meetings PDFs
Model Verification: 30 September-1 October, 2010 Oxford England
(Joint with 9th AEROCOM Workshop)
Inquiries:
angela.benedetti@ecmwf.int
Operational forecast centers have long standing metrics designed to evaluate model performance
(e.g., the 500 hPa anomaly). The aerosol forecasting community has yet to agree on applicable
metrics and protocols in this regard. In this second ICAP meeting, centers and developers will
discuss model metric methods and suitable verification datasets.Establishing common metrics to
evaluate model performance is a powerful tool to assess progress in aerosol forecasting
capabilities both for individual centers and for the community as a whole.Operational forecast
centers have long standing metrics designed to this purpose (e.g., the 500 hPa anomaly). The
aerosol forecasting community has yet to agree on applicable metrics and protocols in this
regard. Inthis second ICAP meeting, centers and developers will discuss model metric methods
and suitable verification datasets.
Meeting Summary
Meeting Participants
Meetings PDFs
Aerosol Observability: 27-29 April, 2010 Monterey CA
Inquiries:
jeffrey.reid@nrlmry.navy.mil
While the last 3 years has seen rapid operational implementation of aerosol and pollution
models around the world, the key to the further development of these models is aerosol
observing data from satellites and ground stations for model evaluation and data assimilation.
This first organizational meeting of ICAP centered on present and future remote sensing
observing systems to support aerosol prediction. Participants included ECMWF, ESA, EUMETSAT,
FNMOC, GMAO, JAXA, JMA, NCEP, NESDIS, NRL and NASA GMAO, LANCE,and LarC as well as several universities.
Announcements
Meeting Participants
Meetings PDFs