Atmospheric profiling is an important tool for understanding the nature and interactions of geophysical phenomena. Within the Earth system framework, representing the vertical structure of our atmosphere is crucial to understand the exchange of energy, momentum, and mass between the atmosphere and the surface (land, ocean, and ice), because these processes have direct implications in air quality, convection, severe weather outbreaks, and climate change. Yet, remote measurements of vertical parameters (e.g., temperature, moisture, wind, traces gases and aerosols) from satellite platforms remain a challenge, due to coarse vertical sampling, limitations in simulating surface and atmospheric processes, and satellite orbital constraints, particularly when it comes down to the characterization of the lower atmosphere where we live.  As a consequence, improvements in the vertical characterization of the Earth-Atmosphere system are deemed urgent and critical for the next decade.

This session will focus on discussing both current research and operational achievements, as well as future directions of satellite vertical profiling methodology (UV/VIS/IR/MW/GPSRO), and their contributions to improve our understanding of thermodynamics, convection, severe weather, air quality, and climate change. Submissions are welcomed to highlight multi-agency (NASA, NOAA, NRL, and Academia) efforts to retrieve and correct passive and active sensors vertical profiling, as well as explore the synergistic relationship between in-situ observations, remote sensing, and weather and climate modeling. We solicit topics of interest that include:

1. Historical perspective of satellite sounders and advancements over the last 20-years.

2. Experiments that explore improvements in vertical sampling

3. Quantification of retrieval uncertainty

4. Impact on satellite-based vertical retrievals on numerical weather prediction

5. BL probing, and impact of PBL processes on weather and air quality through high vertical and temporal profiling of PBL temperature, moisture, and heights

6. Aerosol, cloud and trace gases vertical retrievals and their effects on climate, air quality and radiative balance

7. Sounder retrieved vertical motion of deep convection, heavy precipitation and clouds

8. Sounder retrievals to better understand the vertical structure of hydrometeors

9. Techniques to improve the vertical resolution of water vapor profiling

10. Next generation sensors and nano-satellites

This session will be co-chaired by:

Primary: Mayra I. Oyola (Mayra.I.Oyola@jpl.nasa.gov)

Eric Fetzer, JPL (Eric.J.Fetzer@jpl.nasa.gov)

Nicholas Nalli, NOAA/NESDIS (nick.nalli@noaa.gov)

Chi Ao, JPL (Chi.O.Ao@jpl.nasa.gov)

Panagiotis Vergados, JPL (Panagiotis.Vergados@jpl.nasa.gov)