The sensitivity of tropospheric numerical weather forecasts to increased vertical resolution and the incorporation of stratospheric data

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Abstract
A series of experiments was carried out to determine the sensitivity of an operational numerical weather prediction model to increased vertical resolution and the addition of stratospheric levels. Emphasis is placed on the planetary waves, since recent theoretical investigations indicate that the structure of these waves is greatly influenced by a model's vertical configuration. It is shown that the sensitivity is low and that only a small reduction of forecast error in the planetary waves is achieved by augmented vertical structure.