Land Data Assimilation Working Group
Overview
There is a growing consensus that land models need to be confronted with a wide range of data to constrain uncertainty in parameters, initialize surface states, and address model structural uncertainty. To this end, different land modeling teams are implementing a range of data assimilation techniques. However, these teams are facing a number of technical challenges and issues implementing data assimilation methods with land models. Their efforts are further frustrated by the fact that there are limited opportunities to discuss these challenges at regular scientific meetings. To address this issue, the AIMES Land Data Assimilation Working Group is in the process of building a land data assimilation community within which we can share knowledge and collaborate on synergistic activities to overcome land data assimilation related challenges.
Objectives and Goals
This working group seeks to bring together a community of data assimilation scientists working with land surface models to share the latest tools and techniques to better quantify and constrain uncertainty in carbon-climate and land-atmosphere feedbacks and promote the use of these methods to the wider modeling community.
Working Group Steering Committee
Andy Fox
Senior Research Scientist at Morgan State University in Goddard Earth Sciences Technology and Research II (GESTAR-II); Global Modeling and Assimilation Office (GMAO) of NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Daniel Hagan
Postdoctoral scientist at the Hydro-Climate Extremes Lab (H-CEL), Ghent University
Jana Kolassa
Researcher in the Coupled Data Assimilation team at the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF)
Natasha MacBean
Associate Profossor in the Department of Geography and Environment and the Department of Biology at Western University, Canada
Tristan Quaife
Associate Professor of Carbon Cycle Science and the University of Reading, UK, and an investigator in the UK’s National Centre for Earth Observation
Feng Tao
Assistant Professor at the Asian School of the Environment, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
Join the Land DA Community!
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News and Events
6th Annual Land Data Assimilation Community Workshop
« All Events6th Annual Land Data Assimilation Community Virtual Workshop27 - 28 October, 2026 Online Technical challenges are the focus of this annual meeting as the scientific questions that lie behind those technical developments are typically the focus of other...
5th Annual Land Data Assimilation Community Workshop
The 5th annual Land DA Community Virtual Workshop will take place October 27–28, 2025. This meeting focuses on technical challenges and seeks to build a collaborative land DA community inclusive of all backgrounds and career stages.
Call for ECR Applications to the AIMES Land DA Working Group Steering Committee
We are seeking up to two highly motivated Early Career Researchers (ECRs) to join our Steering Committee. This volunteer position is an opportunity to actively shape the direction of the Land DA Community while gaining experience in scientific leadership and international collaboration. The application deadline is August 18, 2025.
Calibrated Land Model Intercomparison Project (CalLMIP) – 1st Virtual Workshop
CalLMIP is a new community-developed initiative targeting global-scale land models. Its goal is to evaluate parameter calibration efforts aimed at reducing model-data misfit and inter-model spread for key land surface variables. Learn more and get involved.
Terrestrial Carbon Community Assimilation System User Training
This hybrid training, hosted by ESA’s Carbon Science Cluster, AIMES, and the TCCAS project team, is designed for participants at all levels—from students to senior researchers. The training will take place October 7 and 8, 2024 in Frascati, Italy and will include lectures and hands-on training focused on the terrestrial carbon cycle, the D&B terrestrial biosphere model, observation operators, and the TCCAS system. Sessions will involve both instruction and practical exercises on a shared computing platform.
Developments in Land Data Assimilation
Organizers†: Natasha MacBean (1), Jana Kolassa (2), Andy Fox (2), Tristan Quaife (3), Hannah Liddy (4)(1) Western University, Canada, (2) NASA GSFC, USA, (3) University of Reading, UK, (4) Columbia University/NASA GISS, USA† Organized by the AIMES Land Data...
3rd Annual Virtual Land Data Assimilation Workshop: Recent Technical Developments in Land Data Assimilation
Organizers†: Natasha MacBean (1), Jana Kolassa (2), Andy Fox (2), Tristan Quaife (3), Hannah Liddy (4)(1) Western University, Canada, (2) NASA GSFC, USA, (3) University of Reading, UK, (4) Columbia University/NASA GISS, USA† Organized by the AIMES Land Data...
Town Hall on Ensemble Methods for Land Data Assimilation
Town Hall on Ensemble Methods for Land Data Assimilation Tuesday, February 28th at 9:00 - 10:30 (UTC +0)Tuesday, February 28th at 23:00 - 0:30 (UTC +0)Wednesday, March 1st at 4:00 - 5:30 (UTC +0)Registration: Closed Organizers†: Prashant Kumar (1), Shunji Kotsuki (2),...
Town Hall on Machine Learning for Land Data Assimilation
Register for the town hall on a ‘Machine Learning for Land Data Assimilation’ organized by the Land DA working group.
2022 ‘New Directions in Land Data Assimilation’ – Workshop Presentations
13-15 June 2022 | 10:00-13:00 EDT // 16:00-19:00 CEST Organizers†: Natasha MacBean (1), Jana Kolassa (2), Andy Fox (3), Tristan Quaife (4), Hannah Liddy (5)(1) Indiana University, (2) NASA GMAO, (3) Joint Center for Satellite Data Assimilation, (4) University of...