The Twenty-third Professor Dr Vilho Väisälä Award for an Outstanding Research Paper

on Instruments and Methods of Observation and

The Fourth Professor Dr Vilho Väisälä Award for the Development and Implementation of

the Instruments and Methods of Observation

STATEMENT byDr Wenjian Zhang

Representing Michel JarraudThe Secretary-General of

World Meteorological Organization

(Brussels, Belgium, 18 October 2012)

Dear All• Prof. Bertrand Calpini, the President of CIMO,• Mr Erkki Järvinen, Director Meteorology, of Vaisala Oyj, • Dr Brouwer, Permanent Representative of the Netherlands with

WMO• Dr Bruce Baker, representing the Permanent Representative of

USA with WMO• Dr LI Bai, representing the Permanent Representative of China

with WMO• Dr Reinout Boers• Mr Marijn de Haij• Dr Wiel Wauben• Dr Qifeng LU,• Dr William Bell• Dr Niels Bormann• Dear Colleagues, Ladies and Gentlemen

The First Award

The Twenty-third Professor Dr Vilho Väisälä Award for an Outstanding Research Paper

on Instruments and Methods of Observation

Background of the Professor Dr Vilho Väisälä Award for an Outstanding Research Paper on Instruments

and Methods of Observation • In recognition of the importance of obtaining

systematic and reliable observations and measurements for all activities related to meteorology, hydrology and the environment, in 1985 the WMO Executive Council accepted the kind offer of Vaisala Oyj, to establish a WMO Trust Fund for the creation of the Professor Dr Vilho Väisälä Award.

• The first Award presentation ceremony took place in 1986, at the Vaisala premises in Vantaa. The presentation of the first award coincided with the 50th anniversary of the founding of Vaisala Oyj.

The purpose of the Award

• To encourage and stimulate interest in research in the field of instruments and methods of observation, in support of WMO Programmes.

• The Award is presented on a biennial basis to the author, or authors, of an outstanding scientific research paper on instruments and methods of observation published in a scientific journal, or as a summary of a successfully defended Ph.D. thesis.

How to apply and select ?• All WMO Members are invited to submit

candidate publications for the Award. • Three distinguished scientists are designated by

the President of the Commission for Instruments and Methods of Observation (CIMO) to assess these publications. The evaluation by the assessors is based on:– The significance of the topic;– The novelty of ideas and methods; and– The value of the results to WMO Programmes.

How to apply and select ? (2)

• The Väisälä Award Selection Committee, set up by the WMO Executive Council, then examines the pre-selected publications.

• The Committee, which is composed of two EC members and the President of CIMO, makes the final recommendation to the Council.

• The WMO Executive Council Makes the final decision !

The Award

• The Award consists of:–A medal;–A diploma; and–A cash award of US$ 10,000 to

be shared between co-authors.

For the year 2012 this award• The WMO Executive Council selected :

– Messrs Reinout Boers– Marijn de Haij– Wiel Wauben– Henk KLEIN BALTINK– Bert van Ulft– Mark H.F. Savenije (all above are from the Netherlands)– and Charles Long (from USA)

• As the winners of the Twenty-third Väisälä Award for an Outstanding Research Paper on Instruments and Methods of Observation

• The paper entitled: “Optimized fractional cloudiness determination from five ground-based remote sensing techniques ” published in the Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol. 115, 2010.

Some information on the seven Award-winning scientists

Dr Reinout Boers (present here) • He studied physics and meteorology at the

University of Utrecht. He obtained his PhD in meteorology from the University of Wisconsin.

• He worked during a number of years in USA carrying out research on active and passive remote sensing of the lower atmosphere the thermodynamic structure of the cloudy boundary layer and the in situ structure of clouds as observed from airborne field studies.

• He spent a decade in Australia studying the naturally occurring seasonal variability of the physical properties of marine stratocumulus clouds in relation to marine aerosol flux.

• He joined KNMI in 2001 as Department Head of the Atmospheric Research Department, and later as Department Head of the Regional Climate Department.

• Since 2009 he is a Senior Research Scientist in the Earth Observation Department of KNMI investigating the role of clouds on climate, the role of solar absorption of aerosols on dynamic lift of atmospheric aerosol layers and the influence of chemical composition of aerosols on the development of fog and low clouds.

Mr Marijn de Haij (present here) • He studied Meteorology and Physical

Oceanography at the University of Utrecht.

• He joined KNMI in 2005 as a project researcher doing a feasibility study on automated mixing layer height detection from LIDAR ceilometers in the KNMI observation network.

• Since 2006 his research is focused on surface-based in situ and remote sensing observations for weather and climate applications and aeronautical meteorology.

• His work focuses on sensor selection studies and improvement of existing automated observations in the national meteorological observation network.

Dr Wiel Wauben (present here) • He studied astronomy at the Catholic

University of Nijmegen. • He obtained his PhD in astronomy from

the Free University of Amsterdam. • He then joined KNMI in 1993 as a

researcher performing studies on the effects of aircraft emissions on the atmospheric composition and climate.

• This work included the development and validation of a global chemistry transport model with observations and the interpretation of measurements.

• Between 1998 and 2006 he was part of the Instrumental Department of KNMI during which time he carried out the redesign of the Dutch meteorological network.

• Since 2007 he is senior scientist of the Information and Observation Services and Technology division of KNMI.

• His work includes sensor research and the development/specification of data-acquisition and processing systems.

Mr KLEIN BALTINK (not here) • He studied Applied Physics at the University of Technology

Twente in Enschede, the Netherlands. • From 1986 to 1993 he worked for the Dutch Ministry of

Transport, Public Works and Water Management .His main area of interest were research and development of instruments and measuring methods for inland and tidal waters including remote sensing applications.

• From 1993 onwards he is employed at the KNMI. His main interest and focus is on remote sensing of the atmosphere with radars and a microwave radiometer located at the CESAR Observatory in Cabauw, the Netherlands.

• He participated in a number of European projects on wind profilers and cloud observations.

Dr Bert van Ulft (not here)

• He studied biology at the University of Utrecht, from which he also obtained his PhD in 2004 on the relation between disturbance, tree population dynamics and tree species composition in a tropical rain forest in Guyana, including a two-year field work in Guyana.

• He was then employed by the National Herbarium of the Netherlands.

• He joined the Regional Climate Division of KNMI in 2005.

• He is now assisting researchers with the development and application of the regional climate model RACMO.

Mr Savenije (not here) • He studied computer science at Utrecht University. • Furthermore he developed a strong base of

expertise in electronics, data acquisition and data analysis.

• After his graduation in1993 he worked as a researcher and scientific programmer at the Netherlands institute for space research, National research institute for mathematics and computer science in the Netherlands, University of Amsterdam and since a couple of years at the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute.

Dr Long (not here) • He obtained his PhD in Meteorology from Penn State

University in 1996. • He held a number of position and has been the senior

research scientist with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory for the ARM Tropical Western Pacific Program since 1999.

• He specialized in the study of clouds and their effect on the surface radiation energy balance of the Earth-atmosphere system.

• His research interests include observation, quantification, and analyses of the surface radiative energy budget, quantification of cloud macro-physical properties from surface-based measurements, and cloud forcing and feedbacks with respect to surface radiation.

This award-winning paper • Addresses the determination of fractional cloudiness

using different automatic methods and compares them with measurements made by observers.

• This work is of high relevance because of the present trend to replace observers with automatic systems that can operate continuously.

• Being able to relate the values obtained from automatic systems to that of human observers enables to infer trends on cloudiness on long time scales.

• More details, listen to the Dr Boers’ presentation on that subject soon after the Award !

On behalf of the World Meteorological Organization

I wish to congratulate the winners and

Wish them every success in their future endeavors !

1. Speech by the Dr Brouwer, the Permanent Representative of Netherlands with WMO

2. Speech by the Representative of Vaisala Oyj

Presenting the Awardwith the Diplomas and Medals

• I will now have great pleasure:– As the representative of the Secretary-General of WMO– Together with the representative of Vaisala Oyj – The President of CIMO present the certificates & medals

• In presenting Dr Boers, de Haij and Wauben, who are also representing Messrs Klein Baltink, van Ulft, Savenije and Long.– with the Diplomas– And Medals

• Of the Twenty-third Professor Dr Vilho Väisälä Award for an Outstanding Research Paper on Instruments and Methods of Observation.

The Second Award

The Fourth Professor Dr Vilho Väisälä Award for the Development and Implementation of

the Instruments and Methods of Observation

Background of the Professor Dr Vilho Väisälä Award for the Development and Implementation of the

Instruments and Methods of Observation

• Some years ago, Vaisala Oyj provided funds that were used to establish the second Professor Dr Vilho Väisälä Award for the Development and Implementation of the Instruments and Methods of Observation.

• The criteria for the granting of this award were chosen in such a manner that they do not necessarily imply leading-edge research but give also a chance for instrument work in developing countries and countries in economies in transition to be strong competitors and potential winners of the awards.

The purpose of this Award

• Is to encourage and stimulate the development and implementation of the instruments and methods of observation in support of WMO Programmes.

• The award is granted on a biennial basis to the author, or authors, of an outstanding paper published in a scientific journal, or a significant technical report, a project report or a summary of a successfully defended Ph.D. or MSc.

Process and Criteria

• The process is similar to that of the first award, but with slightly different selection criteria. The evaluation by the assessors is based on:– The significance of the candidate’s contribution to

the long-term stability and reliability of meteorological and related environmental observations;

– The relevance to the observing networks in developing countries; and

– The value of its results to WMO programmes.

The Award

• The Award consists of:–A medal;–A diploma; and–A cash award of US$ 10,000 to

be shared between co-authors.

For the year 2012 this award• The WMO Executive Council selected Messrs:– Dr Qifeng Lu (China)– Dr William Bell (UK)– Mr Peter Bauer (UK)– Mr Niels Bormann(UK)– Mrs Carole Peubey (UK)

• As winners of the Fourth Professor Dr Vilho Väisälä Award for the Development and Implementation of the Instruments and Methods of Observation

• For their paper entitled: "Characterizing the FY-3A Microwave Temperature Sounder Using the ECMWF Model”

• Published in the Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology, Vol. 28, 2011.

Some information on the Five Award-winning scientists

Dr Qifeng Lu (present here) • He obtained a degree in Natural Sciences from

Xinjiang University in China in 1999 and PhD from Nanjiang Institute of Meteorology in China in the field of Satellite data assimilation and numerical weather prediction in 2006.

• He joined the National Satellite Meteorological Centre of China Meteorological Administration in 2006 as the project manager.

• He is in charge of the research and development project of FY3A satellite ground application system engineering, "Set up the technical support platform of satellite data assimilation and develop its prototype software", which aims at evaluating the FY-3 data quality/stability/assimilation and also investigating the feasibility of the channel set-up for new instrument before its launch and pre-evaluate its assimilation impact.

• He spent three periods at ECMWF as a visiting scientist for about 2 years since 2008.

• The focus of his work has been a detailed evaluation of the FY-3A and FY-3B suite of instruments within the ECMWF Integrated Forecasting System, where he has succeeded in significantly improving FY-3 data quality and in demonstrating a positive benefit from the assimilation of FY-3A data.

Dr William Bell (present here) • He obtained a degree in Natural Sciences

(Physics) from the University of Cambridge and a PhD from the University of Strathclyde in 1992 in the field of high resolution molecular spectroscopy.

• He joined the National Physical Laboratory in Teddington (UK) in 1990 where he worked on the development of high resolution infrared spectrometers for remote sensing measurements of atmospheric composition.

• In 2001 he joined the Satellite Applications group at the Met Office, UK, where he worked on the assessment and assimilation of data from passive microwave instruments on polar orbiting satellites. Between 2008 and 2012 he worked in the Satellite Group at The European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), Reading, during which time he worked on the assessment and assimilation of new sources of satellite data.

• He returned to the Met Office in April 2012 where he currently leads the Satellite Radiance Assimilation Group.

Dr Peter Bauer (not here)

• He obtained his PhD from the University of Hamburg in 1992.

• He held a number of postions in USA, France and Germany before joining ECMWF in 2002.

• He was Head of Assimilation of cloud and rain affected observations group.

• In 2004 he was promoted to Principal Scientist.

• He became Head of the Satellite Section in 2007 and is not Head of the Model Division.

Dr Niels Bormann (present here) • He studied Physics in Germany and

Geophysics in New Zealand. • He obtained a PhD of Geophysics in

2000. He then joined ECMWF where he has been working until now.

• Since 2011 he is Principal Scientist and Head of the Sounders and Winds Group.

• He worked on the development of the first direct assimilation of infrared limb radiances to improve temperature, humidity and ozone analyses.

• He also addressed the characterization of errors in satellite observations using data assimilation systems and did research and development for operation satellite data assimilation.

Dr Peubey (not here) • She obtained a degree in Physics and a masters in Oceanography,

Meteorology and Environment from the Université Pierre et Marie Curie in Paris.

• Her doctoral studies were carried out at the University of Reading, UK, and concerned the assimilation of ozone retrievals from the ENVISAT satellite into the Met Office model. She was awarded her PhD in 2006.

• Since then she has worked at ECMWF. During this time she demonstrated, for the first time, the individual mechanisms by which 4D-Var assimilation of frequent imagery from a geostationary platform is able to improve the wind analysis in a model.

• She has also been involved in defining the required radiometric specification for microwave images on the next post-EPS mission, in particular investigating the impact of a frequency error on the quality of NWP forecasts.

• More recently she has been working in the team developing the latest 100-year ECMWF Reanalysis (ERA-Clim).

The winning paper • Presents a method to characterise biases in microwave sounding

data from polar orbiting satellites. • It covers the application of this method to data from China's FY-3A

satellite, launched in 2008 - the first in a series of seven satellites to be launched by China over the next decade.

• This method was applied to the microwave sounder on China's FY-3A satellite - data which will be used for Numerical Weather Prediction and climate studies for decades to come.

• The method is general and will be applied to microwave data from the remainder of the FY-3 series, as well as to data from operational satellites launched by agencies in the US and Europe. The results of the study are also influencing the specification and design of future satellite instruments.

• We will have the pleasure to learn more about that during the presentation that Dr Qifeng LU will make on this subject in a few moments.

On behalf of the World Meteorological Organization

I wish to congratulate the winners and

Wish them every success in their future endeavors !

1. Speech by Dr Bai LI, the representative of the Permanent Representative of China with

WMO

2. Speech by the Representative of Vaisala Oyj

Presenting the Awardwith the Diplomas and Medals

• I will now have great pleasure:– As the representative of the Secretary-General of WMO– Together with the representative of Vaisala Oyj – The President of CIMO present the certificates & medals

• Presenting Messrs LU, Bormann and Bell, who are also representing Mr Bauer and Mrs Peubey– with the Diplomas– And Medals

• of the Fourth Professor Dr Vilho Väisälä Award for the Development and Implementation of the Instruments and Methods of Observations.