Pre-Launch Characterization of Cross-track Infrared Sounder/Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder (CrIMSS) Environmental Data Records (EDRs)' Performance

The Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) will launch the NPOESS Preparatory Project (NPP), a risk reduction and data continuity mission, prior to the first operational JPSS launch. The flight sensors of NPP are now undergoing their final pre-launch characterization and calibration. The Cross-track Infrared Sounder (CrIS) and the Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder (ATMS) are two of the instruments that make up the suite of sensors on the NPP to produce three Environmental Data Records (EDRs), including the Atmospheric Vertical Temperature Profile (AVTP), Atmospheric Vertical Moisture Profile (AVMP), and the Atmospheric Vertical Pressure Profile (AVPP). The AVTP and the AVMP are both NPOESS Key Performance Parameters (KPPs) and being used for initialization of high-resolution Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) models, atmospheric stability. A Cal Val Team has been formed to build a Cal/Val system that is capable of characterizing the performance of the sounding instrument suite as well as the sounding EDRs from the Interface Data Processor Segment (IDPS) and demonstrating launch readiness of the sounding EDR algorithm. This paper provides an overview of the NPP CrIMSS Cal Val program and plan, introduces the datasets and approach used for CrIMSS Cal Val, and summarizes the latest sounding EDRs performance assessments based on the CrIS/ATMS proxy datasets as well as global synthetic datasets.