NOAA operational sounding products for advanced TOVS

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Environmental Satellite Data and Information Service (NESDIS) operates a fleet of civilian, polar‐orbiting, environmental satellites that provide users and researchers with a continuous suite of atmospheric and surface products on a global scale. The first advanced TIROS operational vertical sounder (ATOVS) radiometer configuration, onboard NOAA‐15, was successfully launched into an early evening orbit on 13 May 1998. The ATOVS featured the new 13 channel advanced microwave sounding unit (AMSU) module A1, the 2 channel AMSU‐A2 and 5 channel AMSU‐B radiometers, which replaced the MSU and SSU, along with a similar HIRS and AVHRR instrument payload (Goodrun G., Kidwell, K.B. and Winston, W., 2000, NOAA‐KLM users guide: September 2000 revision, Technical Document, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Environmental Satellite Data and Information Service, National Climatic Data Center) that had been operational since 1979. The ATOVS onboard NOAA‐16 was successfully launched into an afternoon orbit on 21 September 2000, followed by NOAA‐17 into a late evening orbit on 24 June 2002, creating the first ever three‐satellite constellation of operational polar satellites (ATOVS). The following report summarizes the online and offline scientific processing systems, respectively, for deriving the NESDIS operational ATOVS sounding products and presents a series of results for the unique three‐operational‐satellite configuration of NOAA‐15, 16 and 17. Results focus on the value of the derived products in the analyses of global and regional scale weather, including direct comparisons against collocated numerical weather prediction (NWP) forecast and radiosonde data. The report is prefaced by a brief history of satellite weather products and concludes with future plans to meet expanding user requirements.

[1]  Fuzhong Weng,et al.  NOAA operational hydrological products derived from the advanced microwave sounding unit , 2005, IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing.

[2]  Filipe Aires,et al.  Potential of Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit‐A (AMSU‐A) and AMSU‐B measurements for atmospheric temperature and humidity profiling over land , 2005 .

[3]  Tony Reale,et al.  Satellite Upper Air Network (SUAN) , 2004, SPIE Optics + Photonics.

[4]  John R. Christy,et al.  Uncertainty in Signals of Large-Scale Climate Variations in Radiosonde and Satellite Upper-Air Temperature Datasets , 2004 .

[5]  John Derber,et al.  Atmospheric transmittance of an absorbing gas. 6. OPTRAN status report and introduction to the NESDIS/NCEP community radiative transfer model. , 2004, Applied optics.

[6]  Fuzhong Weng,et al.  Advanced microwave sounding unit cloud and precipitation algorithms , 2003 .

[7]  Philip W. Rosenkranz,et al.  Rapid radiative transfer model for AMSU/HSB channels , 2003, IEEE Trans. Geosci. Remote. Sens..

[8]  Lihang Zhou,et al.  AIRS near-real-time products and algorithms in support of operational numerical weather prediction , 2003, IEEE Trans. Geosci. Remote. Sens..

[9]  William L. Smith,et al.  AIRS/AMSU/HSB on the Aqua mission: design, science objectives, data products, and processing systems , 2003, IEEE Trans. Geosci. Remote. Sens..

[10]  Christopher D. Barnet,et al.  Retrieval of atmospheric and surface parameters from AIRS/AMSU/HSB data in the presence of clouds , 2003, IEEE Trans. Geosci. Remote. Sens..

[11]  Yonghua Chen,et al.  Surface temperature of the Arctic: Comparison of TOVS satellite retrievals with surface observations , 2002 .

[12]  J. Straka,et al.  An Unusual Reticular Cloud Formation , 2002 .

[13]  A. Reale.  NESDIS Advanced-TOVS (ATOVS) Sounding Products , 2000 .

[14]  Michael P. Ferguson,et al.  Cloud Detection Techniques in NESDIS Advanced-TOVS Sounding Product Systems , 2000 .

[15]  Claudia J. Stubenrauch,et al.  Characteristics of the TOVS Pathfinder Path-B Dataset , 1999 .

[16]  M. Divakarla,et al.  Effects of Possible Scan Geometries on the Accuracy of Satellite Measurements of Water Vapor , 1999 .

[17]  John Sapper,et al.  The development and operational application of nonlinear algorithms for the measurement of sea surface temperatures with the NOAA polar‐orbiting environmental satellites , 1998 .

[18]  L. McMillin,et al.  Characteristics of the NOAA/NESDIS Cloud Retrieval Algorithm Using HIRS-MSU Radiance Measurements , 1996 .

[19]  Larry M. McMillin,et al.  Constrained Regression in Satellite Meteorology , 1996 .

[20]  Arthur C. Neuendorffer,et al.  Ozone monitoring with TIROS‐N operational vertical sounders , 1996 .

[21]  L. McMillin,et al.  Atmospheric transmittance of an absorbing gas. 5. Improvements to the OPTRAN approach. , 1995, Applied optics.

[22]  M. Uddstrom,et al.  System Noise in the NESDIS TOVS Forward Model. Part II: Consequences , 1994 .

[23]  M. Uddstrom,et al.  System Noise in the NESDIS TOVS Forward Model. Part I: Specification , 1994 .

[24]  J. Francis.  Improvements to TOVS retrievals over sea ice and applications to estimating Arctic energy fluxes , 1994 .

[25]  Philippe Courtier,et al.  Use of cloud‐cleared radiances in three/four‐dimensional variational data assimilation , 1994 .

[26]  A. Gruber,et al.  Validation of a Technique for Estimating Outgoing Longwave Radiation from HIRS Radiance Observations , 1994 .

[27]  R. Wagoner,et al.  TOVS operational sounding upgrades: 1990-1992 , 1994 .

[28]  L. McMillin,et al.  An Improved Cloud Retrieval Algorithm Using HIRS2-MSU Radiance Measurements , 1994 .

[29]  Siri Jodha Singh Khalsa,et al.  A climatology of the water vapor band brightness temperatures from NOAA operational satellites , 1993 .

[30]  D. Wark.  Adjustment of TIROS operational vertical sounder data to a vertical view , 1993 .

[31]  Roy W. Spencer,et al.  Precision and radiosonde validation of satellite gridpoint temperature anomalies , 1992 .

[32]  A. Hollingsworth,et al.  Quality Control of Operational Physical Retrievals of Satellite Sounding Data , 1991 .

[33]  A. Hollingsworth,et al.  Global Observing System Experiments on Operational Statistical Retrievals of Satellite Sounding Data , 1991 .

[34]  Norman C. Grody,et al.  The forward problem and corrections for the SSM/T satellite microwave temperature sounder , 1991, IEEE Trans. Geosci. Remote. Sens..

[35]  W. Rossow.  Use of operational satellite data for study of clouds and radiation in climate , 1991 .

[36]  Eugenia Kalnay,et al.  Global Numerical Weather Prediction at the National Meteorological Center , 1990 .

[37]  John R. Christy,et al.  Global atmospheric temperature monitoring with satellite microwave measurements - Method and results 1979-84 , 1990 .

[38]  David S. Crosby,et al.  Correction of Satellite Temperature Retrieval Errors Due to Errors in Atmospheric Transmittances , 1986 .

[39]  Daniel L. Smith.  Eighty-Five Percent and Holding—A Limit to Forecast Accuracy? , 1979 .

[40]  Kenneth H. Bergman,et al.  Role of Observational Errors in Optimum Interpolation Analysis , 1978 .

[41]  C. Rodgers,et al.  Retrieval of atmospheric temperature and composition from remote measurements of thermal radiation , 1976 .

[42]  H. B. Howell,et al.  Nimbus-5 ITPR Experiment. , 1974, Applied optics.

[43]  N E Gaut,et al.  Microwave Spectrometer on the Nimbus 5 Satellite: Meteorological and Geophysical Data , 1973, Science.

[44]  William L. Smith,et al.  A REGRESSION METHOD FOR OBTAINING REAL-TIME TEMPERATURE AND GEOPOTENTIAL HEIGHT PROFILES FROM SATELLITE SPECTROMETER MEASUREMENTS AND ITS APPLICATION TO NIMBUS 3 “SIRS” OBSERVATIONS , 1970 .

[45]  J. McQuigg,et al.  Temperature Modification and Costs of Electric Power Generation , 1969 .

[46]  D. Wark,et al.  Atmospheric Temperature: Successful Test of Remote Probing , 1969, Science.

[47]  H. Fleming,et al.  INDIRECT MEASUREMENTS OF ATMOSPHERIC TEMPERATURE PROFILES FROM SATELLITES: I. INTRODUCTION , 1966 .

[48]  V. Suomi,et al.  ANALYSIS OF SATELLITE INFRARED RADIATION MEASUREMENTS ON A SYNOPTIC SCALE1,2 , 1961 .

[49]  L. Kaplan.  Inference of Atmospheric Structure from Remote Radiation Measurements , 1959 .

[50]  Alan Thorpe.  European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts , 2012 .

[51]  Fuzhong Weng,et al.  JCSDA Community Radiative Transfer Model (CRTM) : version 1 , 2006 .

[52]  Fuzhong Weng,et al.  JCSDA Community Radiative Transfer Model ( CRTM ) , 2005 .

[53]  A. Reale,et al.  NOAA operational sounding products from advanced-TOVS polar orbiting environmental satellites , 2001 .

[54]  A. Reale.  NESDIS operational soundings in the upper stratosphere , 2001 .

[55]  Mitchell D. Goldberg,et al.  The Limb Adjustment of AMSU-A Observations: Methodology and Validation , 2001 .

[56]  John Derber,et al.  The use of TOVS level‐1b radiances in the NCEP SSI analysis system , 2000 .

[57]  M. Goldberg,et al.  Methodology for Deriving Deep-Layer Mean Temperatures from Combined Satellite Infrared and Microwave Observations , 1999 .

[58]  W. Paul Menzel,et al.  Evolution of Satellite Observations in the United States and Their Use in Meteorology , 1996 .

[59]  E. Salathe,et al.  Variability of Moisture in the Upper Troposphere As Inferred from TOVS Satellite Observations and the ECMWF Model Analyses in 1989 , 1995 .

[60]  William L. Smith,et al.  Atmospheric soundings from satellites—false expectation or the key to improved weather prediction? , 1991 .

[61]  J. R. Eyre,et al.  On systematic errors in satellite sounding products and their climatological mean values , 1987 .

[62]  J. Eyre.  On systematic and their climatological mean values , 1987 .

[63]  D. Wark,et al.  Covariance Matrices and Means of Atmospheric Planck Function Profiles for Application to Temperature Sounding from Satellite Measurements , 1973 .

[64]  D. Wark,et al.  INDIRECT MEASUREMENTS OF ATMOSPHERIC TEMPERATURE PROFILES FROM SATELLITES , 1966 .

[65]  W. Kellogg,et al.  Inquiry into the Feasibility of Weather Reconnaissance from a Satellite Vehicle , 1960 .

[66]  S. Hess.  Introduction to theoretical meteorology , 1959 .

[67]  J. King,et al.  The Radiative Heat Transfer of Planet Earth , 1958 .

[68]  D. Crowson.  Cloud Observations from Rockets , 1949 .

[69]  Sverre Petterssen,et al.  Weather analysis and forecasting , 1940 .