Convergence of the Square Root Ensemble Kalman Filter in the Large Ensemble Limit

Abstract

Ensemble filters implement sequential Bayesian estimation by representing the probability distribution by an ensemble mean and covariance. Unbiased square root ensemble filters use deterministic algorithms to produce an analysis (posterior) ensemble with prescribed mean and covariance, consistent with the Kalman update. This includes several filters used in practice, such as the Ensemble Transform Kalman Filter (ETKF), the Ensemble Adjustment Kalman Filter (EAKF), and a filter by Whitaker and Hamill. We show that at every time index, as the number of ensemble members increases to infinity, the mean and covariance of an unbiased ensemble square root filter converge to those of the Kalman filter, in the case a linear model and an initial distribution of which all moments exist. The convergence is in $L^{p}$ and the convergence rate does not depend on the model dimension. The result holds in the infinitely dimensional Hilbert space as well.