<p>Recently, <a href="https://www.whoi.edu/oceanus/feature/a-rainfall-forecast-worth-its-salt/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">a new method</a> has been proposed by <a href="https://directory.whoi.edu/profile/rschmitt/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Ray Schmitt (WHOI)</a> and collaborators to use salinity patterns in the ocean to predict weather events (more specifically, rainfall) at scales from weeks to months. First, <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.1501588" rel="nofollow noreferrer">they were able to predict</a> rainfall in the Sahara region. More recently, they have expanded their methodology to predict weather in the US and their method performed better than most of the traditional approaches (that included patterns like El Niño).</p>

<p>Predictions for  Apr 23 – May 6, 2019 (Source: <a href="https://salientpredictions.launchrock.com/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Salient Predictions</a>)
<a href="https://i.sstatic.net/mtRZR.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/mtRZR.png" alt="Predictions for Apr 23 – May 6, 2019"></a>
Considering that we are having more and better salinity information from satellites (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soil_Moisture_and_Ocean_Salinity" rel="nofollow noreferrer">SMOS</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soil_Moisture_Active_Passive" rel="nofollow noreferrer">SMAP</a>):</p>

<ul>
<li>can we expect to have a better global seasonal rainfall prediction in the near future <a href="https://salientpredictions.launchrock.com/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">as they described</a>? </li>
<li>What are the limitations of the approach? </li>
<li>How far in the future can we extend the approach?</li>
</ul>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-04-26T03:47:13.947Z
Not that I know of.
arkaia
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-04-26T15:26:56.847Z
Maybe. Our community is rather small :-)
arkaia
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-05-20T11:20:23.417Z
@gansub, they are great group of people and amazing scientists.
arkaia
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-06-26T11:50:40.590Z
@gansub, check SMOS data
arkaia
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-06-26T11:53:24.907Z
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10236-013-0660-y https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/6266690 https://journals.ametsoc.org/doi/full/10.1175/JCLI-D-14-00435.1
arkaia
<meteorology><oceanography><weather-forecasting><rainfall><salinity>
Using salinity to predict rainfall
arkaia
# Using salinity to predict rainfall

(Asked by: username_0 on 2019-04-22)

Recently, [a new method](https://www.whoi.edu/oceanus/feature/a-rainfall-forecast-worth-its-salt/) has been proposed by [Ray Schmitt (WHOI)](https://directory.whoi.edu/profile/rschmitt/) and collaborators to use salinity patterns in the ocean to predict weather events (more specifically, rainfall) at scales from weeks to months. First, [they were able to predict](https://dx.doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.1501588) rainfall in the Sahara region. More recently, they have expanded their methodology to predict weather in the US and their method performed better than most of the traditional approaches (that included patterns like El Niño).

Predictions for Apr 23 – May 6, 2019 (Source: [Salient Predictions](https://salientpredictions.launchrock.com/))
[![Predictions for Apr 23 – May 6, 2019](https://i.sstatic.net/mtRZR.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/mtRZR.png)
Considering that we are having more and better salinity information from satellites ([SMOS](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soil_Moisture_and_Ocean_Salinity) and [SMAP](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soil_Moisture_Active_Passive)):

* can we expect to have a better global seasonal rainfall prediction in the near future [as they described](https://salientpredictions.launchrock.com/)?
* What are the limitations of the approach?
* How far in the future can we extend the approach?

**Tags:** meteorology, oceanography, weather-forecasting, rainfall, salinity

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Not that I know of.  
> **username_0**: Maybe. Our community is rather small :-)  
> **username_0**: @gansub, they are great group of people and amazing scientists.  
> **username_0**: @gansub, check SMOS data  
> **username_0**: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10236-013-0660-y https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/6266690 https://journals.ametsoc.org/doi/full/10.1175/JCLI-D-14-00435.1  

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## 0 answers

