Validation of CrIMSS AVTP and AVMP Retrievals with PMRF RAOBs, ECMWF Analysis Fields, and the Retrieval Products from Heritage Algorithms

The official Cross-track Infrared and Microwave Sounder Suite (CrIMSS) Environmental Data Record (EDR) algorithm version MX7.1 is currently in operations through the Interface Data Processing Segment (IDPS). As a part of the CrIMSS cal/val activities, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) center for Satellite Research and Applications (STAR) has acquired a variety of validation data sets to evaluate the Atmospheric Vertical Temperature Profile (AVTP) and Atmospheric Vertical Moisture Profile (AVMP) products. The validation data sets include dedicated radiosonde measurements from Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Cloud and Radiation Testbed (ARM/CART) sites, intensive field campaigns, and campaigns of opportunity. As part of this effort, the Aerospace Corporation supported the launching of 40 Vaisala RS92 dedicated radiosondes from the Pacific Missile Range Facility (PMRF) in Barking Sands, Hawaii, during May and September 2012. This paper presents an evaluation of the CrIMSS MX7.1 AVTP and AVMP products using the PMRF dedicated sondes, and matchup data sets consisting of European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) analysis fields and the retrieval products from Aqua-Atmosheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) V6 heritage algorithm. Implications on using island based EDR products in evaluating the CrIMSS algorithm performance are discussed. The results of evaluation show that for low cloud amounts and cloud-free fields of regard (FOR), the CrIMSS MX7.1 EDR algorithm is very robust and the AVTP and AVMP product bias and Root Mean Squared (RMS) differences with reference to dedicated RAOBs and ECMWF analysis fields are very similar to the AIRS-V6 heritage algorithm statistics. In fact, the CrIMSS AVMP retrievals show better promise for mid-to-upper troposphere water vapor compared to AIRS-V6 ‘pbest-quality' retrievals. Both the CrIMSS and the AIRS retrievals are found to agree well with ECMWF indicating that the ECMWF analysis fields can be used as a proxy to the truth measurements over data sparse open oceans. The AIRS-V6 final physical retrieval that utilizes a neural network regression solution as its first guess is found to be only slightly better than the first guess solution. The difference between AIRS-V6 and the CrIMSS EDR is that the CrIMSS EDR is ‘physical-only' and does not incorporate any knowledge of ECMWF within the retrieval. Further evaluations with a larger set of dedicated radiosonde measurements and ECMWF matches over ARM/CART sites are in progress and will be presented at the conference.