Water Vapor and Rain Rate Retrievals Algorithms - Validation
Abstract
On board of SAC-D/Aquarius satellite there are eight instruments designed according to specific objectives. One of these instruments is the microwave radiometer MWR. MWR is a pushbroom 3 channel, Dicke radiometer, operating at K (23.8 GHz H-Pol) and Ka (36.5 GHz, H- & V-Pol) band. The instrument has 16 beams, 8 forward-looking (36.5 GHz) and 8 aft-looking (23.8 GHz), and it derives water vapor column (WV), liquid water column (LW), rain rate (RR), wind speed (WS) and sea ice concentration (IC) from brightness temperature (Tb) measurements. Actually, CONAE implemented the retrievals algorithms developed by Central Florida Remote Sensing Lab (CFRSL) team (University of Florida, USA). This version was obtained from multivariate regression algorithms using WindSat and GDAS (Global Data Assimilation System) data. The objectives of these algorithms are the estimation of geophysical parameters: WV, RR and WS from the geometric-radiometric calibrated brightness temperatures and ancillary numerical weather model data from GDAS. This algorithm differs from previous versions in that corrections due to the difference between MWR and Windsat incidence angles are considered separately for each horn. In this paper we describe the currently retrievals algorithms applied in CONAE to obtain the geophysical variables RR and WV. In addition, we show some results of comparisons between different versions. We also present the progress made in the validation process, showing the results obtained in the comparison of these variables against the corresponding to Windsat, GDAS and radiosondes during the first half of 2012.
- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2012
- Bibcode:
- 2012AGUFM.A11B0058H
- Keywords:
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- 1655 GLOBAL CHANGE / Water cycles;
- 1818 HYDROLOGY / Evapotranspiration;
- 1855 HYDROLOGY / Remote sensing;
- 3360 ATMOSPHERIC PROCESSES / Remote sensing