High Spectral Resolution Infrared and Advanced Microwave Sounders (CrIS/ATMS) Data Products Generated at NOAA/NESDIS

Recently, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Environmental Satellite Data and Information Service (NESDIS) has made significant improvements for retrieving the atmospheric sounding using the high spectral resolution infrared and advanced microwave sounders data from the Cross-track Infrared Sounder (CrIS) and the Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder (ATMS) instruments on board the Suomi-National Polar-orbiting Partnership (S-NPP) and the Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer (IASI) which resides on the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Metop series of polar-orbiting satellites.

In a series of advanced operational sounders CrIS, in conjunction with ATMS, provides more accurate, detailed atmospheric temperature and moisture observations for weather and climate applications. Higher (spatial, temporal and spectral) resolution and more accurate sounding data from CrIS and ATMS support continuing advances in data assimilation systems and NWP models to improve short- to medium-range weather forecasts. Currently, the NOAA Unique Combined Atmospheric Processing System (NUCAPS) produces level 2 products from Metop-A/B and S-NPP satellites include temperature and humidity profiles; trace gases such as ozone, nitrous oxide, carbon dioxide, and methane; and the cloud cleared radiances (CCR) on a global scale and these products are available to the operational user community.

In an effort to ensure consistent levels of service and quality assurance for the NUCAPS data products the Office of Satellite and Product Operations (OSPO) of NOAA/NESDIS has implemented and executed new innovative tools to better monitor performance and data quality of the operational sounder and imager products that are being generated. The OSPO webpages and data quality monitoring tools have been extended to include the CrIS/ATMS SKEW-T (Logarithmic Pressure vs Temperature and Dew Point Temperature) sounding plots over the extended region of CONUS and these pages are updated every hour to show the latest soundings. At each grid points last ten soundings are retained to track the changes in the atmospheric conditions. The incorporation of these tools in the OSPO operation has facilitated the diagnosis and resolution of problems when detected in the operational environment.

This presentation will include several of these tools developed and deployed for the sounding products monitoring and data quality assurance which led to improving the maintenance and sustainment of the Environmental Satellites Processing Center (ESPC) processing systems. The presentation will include the discussion on the ESPC system architecture involving sounding data processing and distribution for CrIS and IASI sounding products. Discussion will also include the improvements made for data quality measurements, granule processing and distribution, and user timeliness requirements envisioned from the next generation of JPSS satellites. There have been significant changes in the operational system due to system upgrades, algorithm updates, and value added data products and services.