Precision Lower Stratospheric Temperature Monitoring with the MSU: Technique, Validation, and Results 1979–1991

Abstract Microwave Sounding Unit channel 4 data from the TIROS-N series of NOAA satellites are intercalibrated to provide a continuous global record of deep-layer averaged lower stratospheric temperatures during 1979–1991. A 13-year record of temperature anomalies is time averaged into pentads and months on a 2.5° grid. The monthly gridpoint anomalies are validated with ten years of radiosonde data during 1979–88. The calibration stability of each satellite's measurements is evaluated during satellite overlap periods, the longest of which reveal no measurable instrumental drift at the level of 0.01°C yr−1. Intercomparisons between NOAA-6 and NOAA-7 anomalies indicate monthly gridpoint precision of 0.05°C in the tropics to around 0.10°C in the extratropies, and signal-to-noise ratios generally over 500, while global monthly precision is 0.01° to 0.02°C. These precision and stability statistics are much better than have been previously reported by other investigators for MSU channel 4. Pentad precision is a...