P3.34
Assessing the Quality and Utility of Higher Resolution GOES Sounder Retrievals
Gary E. Gray, Raytheon, Lanham, MD; and J. Daniels
NOAA/NESDIS operations currently retrieves profiles of temperature and moisture from hourly GOES measurements made by the GOES-8 and GOES-10 sounder instruments. These profiles (and surface skin temperature) are determined every 50km at 40 pressure levels from 1000 hPa to 0.1 hPa using a simultaneous physical algorithm. The retrieved moisture products from GOES-8 and GOES-10 serve as vital input into the ETA Data Assimilation System (EDAS) which is operationally run by the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP)/Environmental Modeling Center (EMC). In addition to these temperature and moisture profiles, various atmospheric stability indices including: Convective Available Potential Energy (CAPE), Convective Inhibition (CINH), Lifted Index (LI), and Total Totals (TT) index can also be derived. These stability products have become increasingly important to National Weather Service (NWS) forecasters during severe weather outbreaks. In order to increase their usefulness, these products are now being routinely generated at full resolution (10km) in a experimental mode at the NESDIS Office of Research and Applications. Higher resolution and increased coverage offered by these products offer the potential to significantly improve their utility for more clearly defining areas likely to be impacted by severe weather. Statistical comparisons made between collocated GOES retrieved moisture and radiosonde moisture indicate that the quality of these higher resolution retrievals are as good as those generated operationally. The utility of these higher resolution retrievals will be demonstrated in several case studies.
Poster Session 3, Operational Applications (Continued)
Tuesday, 16 October 2001, 2:15 PM-4:00 PM
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