Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 15, 2026

07:47
ScanLag: High-throughput Quantification of Colony Growth and Lag Time
Published on: July 15, 2014
16.9K
The Weighted-Average Lagged Ensemble
T DelSole1,2, L Trenary1,2, M K Tippett3,4
1Department of Atmospheric, Ocean, and Earth Sciences George Mason University Fairfax VA USA.
Summary
Optimal weighting of lagged ensemble forecasts can improve skill. This study reveals conditions where weights become negative or non-monotonic, particularly with rapid error growth and high error correlation.
Area of Science:
- Meteorology and Climate Science
- Data Assimilation and Ensemble Forecasting
Background:
- Lagged ensembles combine forecasts from the same model initialized at different times.
- Weighted-average lagged ensembles optimize forecast skill by assigning weights.
- Optimal weights typically decay monotonically with lead time for uncorrelated errors.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate conditions leading to non-standard optimal weights in weighted-average lagged ensembles.
- To analyze scenarios where optimal weights become negative or depend non-monotonically on lead time.
Main Methods:
- Development of analytic examples to study optimal weight behavior.
- Examination of the relationship between error characteristics and weight behavior.
- Analysis of mean square error constancy across forecast lead times.
Main Results:
- Negative weights are probable when forecast errors grow rapidly and exhibit high cross-lead-time correlation.
- Non-monotonic weights are likely when mean square error remains constant across the ensemble's lead time range.
- An extreme case demonstrates optimal weights concentrating only at the shortest and longest lead times.
Conclusions:
- The behavior of optimal weights in lagged ensembles is sensitive to error dynamics.
- Understanding these conditions is crucial for accurate ensemble forecast interpretation and application.
- Non-standard weight behavior can arise even in bias-corrected, unbiased weighted ensembles.
Related Concept Videos
Lagging Strand Synthesis
61.5K
During replication, the complementary strands in double-stranded DNA are synthesized at different rates. Replication first begins on the leading strand. Replication starts later, occurs more slowly, and proceeds discontinuously on the lagging strand.
There are several major differences between synthesis of the leading strand and synthesis of the lagging strand. 1) Leading strand synthesis happens in the direction of replication fork opening, whereas lagging strand synthesis happens in the...
There are several major differences between synthesis of the leading strand and synthesis of the lagging strand. 1) Leading strand synthesis happens in the direction of replication fork opening, whereas lagging strand synthesis happens in the...
61.5K
Lagging Strand Synthesis
16.9K
16.9K
Average Acceleration
14.6K
The importance of understanding acceleration spans our day-to-day experiences, as well as the vast reaches of outer space and the tiny world of subatomic physics. In everyday conversation, to accelerate means to speed up. For instance, we are familiar with the acceleration of our car; the harder we apply our foot to the gas pedal, the faster we accelerate. The greater the acceleration, the greater the change in velocity over a given time. Acceleration is widely seen in experimental physics. In...
14.6K
Average Velocity
24.4K
To calculate the other physical quantities in kinematics, we must introduce the time variable. The time variable allows us not only to state the position of the object during its motion, but also how fast it is moving. The speed at which an object is moving is given by the rate at which the position changes with time. For each position xi, we assign a particular time ti. If the details of the motion at each instant are not important, the rate is usually expressed as the average velocity. This...
24.4K
Average Value of a Function
70
The average value of a function over a closed interval can be interpreted geometrically as the height of a rectangle whose area equals the net area under the curve across that interval. This net area accounts for both positive and negative contributions of the function, providing a single representative value that reflects the function’s overall behaviorA practical illustration of this idea arises when monitoring the temperature inside a greenhouse over a twenty-four-hour period. Although...
70
Average Power
1.1K
In practical electrical applications, the concept of time-varying instantaneous power is not frequently utilized. Instead, focus shifts to the more practical quantity known as average power. Average power is determined by integrating the instantaneous power over a specified time period and subsequently dividing it by that duration.
1.1K

