The Impact of Data Boundaries upon a Successive Corrections Objective Analysis of Limited-Area Datasets

Abstract

Successive corrections objective analysis techniques frequently are used to array data from limited area without consideration of how the absence of data beyond the boundaries of the network impacts the analysis in the interior of the grid. The problem of data boundaries is studied theoretically by extending the response theory for the Barnes objective analysis method to include boundary effects. The results from the theoretical studies are verified with objective analyses of analytical data. Several important points regarding the objective analysis of limited-area datasets are revealed through this study. The results show that, in the analysis of limited-area datasets, the analyst should be prepared to accept that most (probably all) analyses will suffer from the impacts of the boundaries of the data field.