Co-location algorithms for satellite observations

A co-location algorithm is under development to support NESDIS integrated satellite product development. This algorithm will be adopted to co-locate satellite observation data from different instruments on the same or different observation platforms. The combination of satellite observations from different instruments will provide more spectral information for products and potentially increases the observation time-resolution. Resent research shows that retrieval algorithms, based on the combination of imaging and sounding sensors, can significantly improve performance in cloudy conditions. In this work the goal is to combine satellite data from different kinds of sensors into an operational system. The algorithm is derived from early work (F. W. Nagle, 1992) and in this paper, the co-location algorithm is introduced, results using Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit (AMSU) and Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer (AMSR-E) aboard the Aqua satellite and results using AMSU aboard the Aqua and NOAA-16 are presented.