A New Daily OLR Dataset for Identifying the MJO and Tropical Waves

NOAA's Climate Data Record Program has recently produced a new long-term dataset of daily outgoing longwave radiation (OLR) based on retrievals from the High-resolution Infrared Sounder (HIRS) and geostationary imagers (GridSat). This presentation will compare the new CDR of HIRS/GridSat OLR with another OLR dataset based on Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) retrievals that has been available from NOAA/ESRL. Some advantages of the new dataset include: • Elimination of aliasing from satellite orbital procession • Inter-satellite calibration for a consistent record from 1979 to the present • Higher spatial resolution (1.0°x1.0° as opposed to 2.5°x2.5°) • Eliminated minor geo-location errors • Increased sensitivity to subsidence We will discuss how these improvements affect commonly used diagnostics for the Madden–Julian Oscillation (MJO) and tropical waves. These diagnostics will be available in near-real time on monitor.cicsnc.org/mjo in the coming months.