The Korean Integrated Model (KIM) System for Global Weather Forecasting

• Published in: Asia-Pacific journal of atmospheric sciences Vol. 54; no. Suppl 1; pp. 267 - 292
• Main Authors: Hong, Song-You, Kwon, Young Cheol, Kim, Tae-Hun, Esther Kim, Jung-Eun, Choi, Suk-Jin, Kwon, In-Hyuk, Kim, Junghan, Lee, Eun-Hee, Park, Rae-Seol, Kim, Dong-Il
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Seoul Korean Meteorological Society 01.06.2018; Springer Nature B.V; 한국기상학회
• Subjects: Atmospheric models; Atmospheric Sciences; Climatology; Data assimilation; Data collection; Deployment; Earth and Environmental Science; Earth Sciences; Evolution; Frameworks; Geophysics/Geodesy; Global weather; Parameterization; Physics; Weather forecasting; 대기과학; WRF; GRIMs; global forecast system; Numerical weather prediction; KIM
• ISSN: 1976-7633; 1976-7951
• DOI: 10.1007/s13143-018-0028-9

The Korea Institute of Atmospheric Prediction Systems (KIAPS) began a national project to develop a new global atmospheric model system in 2011. The ultimate goal of this 9-year project is to replace the current operational model at the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA), which was adopted from the United Kingdom’s Meteorological Office’s unified model (UM) in 2010. The 12-km Korean Integrated Model (KIM) system, consisting of a spectral-element non-hydrostatic dynamical core on a cubed sphere grid and a state-of-the-art physics parameterization package, has been launched in a real-time forecast framework, with initial conditions obtained via the advanced hybrid four-dimensional ensemble variational data assimilation (4DEnVar) over its native grid. A development strategy for KIM and the evolution of its performance in medium-range forecasts toward a world-class global forecast system are described. Outstanding issues in KIM 3.1 as of February 2018 are discussed, along with a future plan for operational deployment in 2020.