The present study assesses the viability of including water vapor data from Interferometry Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) in the initialization of numerical weather prediction (NWP) models, using already available Sentinel‐1 A and B products. Despite the limitations resulting from the 6‐day return period of images produced by the 2‐satellite system, it is found that for a sufficiently large domain designed to contain a set of images every 12 h (at varying locations), the impact on model performance is beneficial or at least neutral. The proposed methodology is tested in 24 consecutive 12 h forecasts, covering two cycles of the Sentinel‐1 system and 214 images, for a domain containing Iberia. A statistical analysis of the forecast precipitable water vapor (PWV) against independent GNSS observations concluded for relevant improvements in the different scores, especially during a consecutive 3‐day period where the standard initial data were less accurate. An analysis of the rain forecasts against gridded remote sensing observations further indicates an overall improvement in the grid‐point distribution of different precipitation classes throughout the simulation, even when the mean impact of PWV assimilation was not significant. It is suggested that current InSAR data are already a useful source of NWP data and will only become more relevant as new systems are put into operation.

中文翻译：

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用于数值天气预报的Sentinel-1可沉淀水汽图的连续多轨同化：我们可以利用当前的InSAR数据走多远？

本研究使用现有的Sentinel-1 A和B产品评估了将干涉测量合成孔径雷达（InSAR）的水蒸气数据包括在数值天气预报（NWP）模型的初始化中的可行性。尽管由2卫星系统产生的图像在6天的返回期内受到了限制，但发现对于设计为每12小时（在不同位置）包含一组图像的足够大的域，对模型的影响表现是有益的或至少是中立的。对于包含伊比利亚细菌的区域，该方法在24个连续的12小时预报中进行了测试，涵盖了Sentinel-1系统的两个周期和214张图像。根据独立的GNSS观测结果对预测的可降水量水汽（PWV）进行的统计分析得出结论，认为不同分数有相关的改进，尤其是在连续3天的标准初始数据准确性较低的情况下。根据栅格化遥感观测资料对降雨预报进行的分析进一步表明，在整个模拟过程中，即使PWV同化的平均影响不显着，总体上不同降水类别的栅格点分布也有所改善。建议当前的InSAR数据已经是NWP数据的有用来源，并且只有在新系统投入运行后才会变得更加相关。根据栅格化遥感观测资料对降雨预报进行的分析进一步表明，在整个模拟过程中，即使PWV同化的平均影响不显着，总体上不同降水类别的栅格点分布也有所改善。建议当前的InSAR数据已经是NWP数据的有用来源，并且只有在新系统投入运行后才会变得更加相关。根据栅格化遥感观测资料对降雨预报进行的分析进一步表明，在整个模拟过程中，即使PWV同化的平均影响不显着，总体上不同降水类别的栅格点分布也有所改善。建议当前的InSAR数据已经是NWP数据的有用来源，并且只有在新系统投入运行后才会变得更加相关。