Spaceborne observation of columnar water vapor: SSMI observations and algorithm

An analysis of the transfer of microwave radiation with a frequency between 10 and 40 GHz through a cloud-free atmosphere is given, and the limitations of employing observations at 22.235 GHz for sensing the columnar water vapor (CWV) in the moist atmosphere (CWV > 40 kg m−2) are shown. It is because of this limitation that a new method for the retrieval of columnar water vapor is described. This method uses both the horizontally and vertically polarized brightness temperatures measured at 19.35 GHz by the special sensor microwave imager (SSMI) which was launched as part of the Defense Military Satellite Program. The water vapor derived from the SSMI observations is validated against radiosonde observations that are near coincident in time and space with an rms error of 6 kg m−2. This large rms is in part due to sensitivity of the retrieval method to the surface emission. Distributions of CWV over the oceans were obtained for a 3-month period starting September 1987. These results are compared to other water vapor retrievals for the same period using the same microwave radiance data; they show close agreement except over the warmest water in the equatorial tropics.

[1]  V. Ramanathan,et al.  Observational determination of the greenhouse effect , 1989, Nature.

[2]  Donald W. Hillger,et al.  Retrieval and Use of High-Resolution Moisture and Stability Fields from Nimbus 6 HIRS Radiances in Pre-Convective Situations , 1981 .

[3]  C. Willmott.  Some Comments on the Evaluation of Model Performance , 1982 .

[4]  R. Rosen,et al.  Variability in the Annual Fields of Large-Scale Atmospheric Water Vapor Transport , 1979 .

[5]  R. Kakar,et al.  An empirical microwave emissivity model for a foam-covered sea , 1982, IEEE Journal of Oceanic Engineering.

[6]  P. Rosenkranz,et al.  Monthly distributions of precipitable water from the NIMBUS 7 SMMR data , 1984 .

[7]  L. Illari.  The quality of satellite precipitable water content data and their impact on analyzed moisture fields , 1989 .

[8]  C. Prabhakara,et al.  Remote sensing of precipitable water over the oceans from Nimbus 7 microwave measurements , 1982 .

[9]  C. Swift,et al.  An improved model for the dielectric constant of sea water at microwave frequencies , 1977, IEEE Journal of Oceanic Engineering.

[10]  L. J. Cox.  Optical Properties of the Atmosphere , 1979 .

[11]  Robert F. Adler,et al.  A Proposed Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Satellite , 1988 .

[12]  Richard W. Reynolds,et al.  A Real-Time Global Sea Surface Temperature Analysis , 1988 .

[13]  T. Wilheit,et al.  Remote sensing of atmospheric water vapor, liquid water, and wind speed at the ocean surface by passive microwave techniques from the Nimbus 5 satellite , 1979 .

[14]  J. Peixoto,et al.  The Atmospheric Branch Of The Hydrological Cycle And Climate , 1983 .

[15]  W. C. Shen,et al.  Statistical Estimation of Precipitable Water With SIRS–B Water Vapor Radiation Measurements , 1973 .

[16]  T. T. Wilheit,et al.  The effect of wind on the microwave emission from the ocean's surface at 37 GHz , 1979 .

[17]  P. Gloersen,et al.  A Statistical Examination of Nimbus-7 SMMR Data and Remote Sensing of Sea Surface Temperature, Liquid Water Content in the Atmosphere and Surface Wind Speed , 1983 .

[18]  F. J. Wentz,et al.  A model function for ocean microwave brightness temperatures , 1983 .

[19]  William L. Smith,et al.  Determination of Moisture From NOAA Polar Orbiting Satellite Sounding Radiances. , 1981 .

[20]  Graeme L. Stephens,et al.  On the relationship between water vapor over the oceans and sea surface temperature , 1990 .

[21]  C. Prabhakara,et al.  Remote Sensing of Seasonal Distribution of Precipitable Water Vapor over the Oceans and the Inference of Boundary-Layer Structure , 1979 .

[22]  David A. Short,et al.  Rainfall over oceans inferred from Nimbus 7 SMMR - Application to 1982-83 El Nino , 1986 .

[23]  Syukuro Manabe,et al.  Thermal Equilibrium of the Atmosphere with a Given Distribution of Relative Humidity , 1967 .

[24]  Eni G. Njoku,et al.  Global Measurements of Sea Surface Temperature, Wind Speed and Atmospheric Water Content from Satellite Microwave Radiometry , 1983 .