Trimmed Ensemble Kalman Filter for Nonlinear and Non-Gaussian Data Assimilation Problems

We study the ensemble Kalman filter (EnKF) algorithm for sequential data assimilation in a general situation, that is, for nonlinear forecast and measurement models with non-additive and non-Gaussian noises. Such applications traditionally force us to choose between inaccurate Gaussian assumptions that permit efficient algorithms (e.g., EnKF), or more accurate direct sampling methods which scale poorly with dimension (e.g., particle filters, or PF). We introduce a trimmed ensemble Kalman filter (TEnKF) which can interpolate between the limiting distributions of the EnKF and PF to facilitate adaptive control over both accuracy and efficiency. This is achieved by introducing a trimming function that removes non-Gaussian outliers that introduce errors in the correlation between the model and observed forecast, which otherwise prevent the EnKF from proposing accurate forecast updates. We show for specific trimming functions that the TEnKF exactly reproduces the limiting distributions of the EnKF and PF. We also develop an adaptive implementation which provides control of the effective sample size and allows the filter to overcome periods of increased model nonlinearity. This algorithm allow us to demonstrate substantial improvements over the traditional EnKF in convergence and robustness for the nonlinear Lorenz-63 and Lorenz-96 models.