At CIMSS, vertical temperature and moisture profiles retrieved from GOES Sounder radiances (satellite retrievals) have been produced and compared to radiosondes since 1995. In addition, National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS) operational retrievals have also been compared with radiosondes. Examination and comparison of these two rich datasets allows for extensive evaluation of past performance, and could lead to ideas for future retrieval improvements.

The main focus of this paper will be to compare these two sets of retrievals with colocated, verifying radiosonde data. Various temperature and moisture parameters will be examined. The data will be analyzed by month and season, by time (00Z vs. 12Z), by region (north vs. south, etc.), and by sensor (GOES-E vs. GOES-W). Moreover, an evaluation of one of the important components of the retrieval process, the bias correction of the measured GOES radiances, will also be undertaken. The differences between the bias corrections used in the CIMSS and NESDIS retrievals will be outlined and compared. The size of the bias correction as a function of time will be shown for a number of the sounder bands.