Monday, 10 January 2000
Since April 1994 a new generation of geostationary sounders has been
measuring atmospheric radiances in eighteen infrared spectral bands.
Retrieved temperature and moisture profiles from these data have been
generated in clear skies every hour over much of North America and
adjacent oceans since July 1995. This study will focus on validation
of these retrievals, as well as the accompanying first guess profiles
used to generate the retrievals. First, the standard approach for
GOES retrieval validation against the conventional twice-daily,
co-located radiosondes will be shown. This approach is less than
ideal for several reasons. These include differing instrument
measurement characteristics, co-location errors, measurement time
differences, and radiosonde errors. An alternative, more comprehensive
validation approach will also be examined. This approach uses data
from the Department of Energy Atmospheric Radiation Measurement
(DOE ARM) program Southern Great Plains Cloud and Radiation Testbed
(SGP CART) site central facility, located near Lamont, Oklahoma.
Comparisons of GOES retrievals with Cross-Chain Loran Sounding
System (CLASS) radiosondes, launched at other than synoptic times,
will be shown. In addition, five-minute resolution microwave
radiometer (MWR) data is also available at the SGP CART site. These
data are considered an accurate, stable reference for total
precipitable water (TPW) during non-precipitating periods. In this
study, both GOES-8 and -10 retrieved moisture will also be compared
to the MWR TPW.
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