Impact of far infrared radiometry on analyses of temperature and humidity
Abstract
Data assimilation optimally combines numerical weather predictions and large amounts of observations to obtain the analysis which is the best linear unbiased estimate of the state of the atmosphere. In this context, current observations comes mostly from satellites thermal infrared sounders like AIRS and IASI. However, the thermal infrared only constitutes half of the Earth's emitted radiance, the other half being the far infrared, ranging from 15 to 100 μm. In recent years, some theoretical studies have shown the added-value of far infrared observations for remote sensing of water vapor and clouds, especially in dry and cold regions. Radiometers can provide measurements in the far infrared over broader bands which increase the signal-to-noise ratio. This study serves as a basis for the development of the future satellite mission TICFIRE (Thin Ice Clouds in Far IR Experiment).The added-value of different configurations of this instrument can be measured through information content brought to the analysis for temperature and humidity. This allowed to evaluate the impact of different configurations of the instrument to determine an "optimal" configuration in terms the number and width of the spectral bands in the far infrared. Experiments in Arctic conditions in which AIRS and far infrared measurements were assimilated, it was shown that the latter improve the analysis when assimilated on top of AIRS measurements.
- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2017
- Bibcode:
- 2017AGUFM.A23H..06C
- Keywords:
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- 0305 Aerosols and particles;
- ATMOSPHERIC COMPOSITION AND STRUCTURE;
- 0319 Cloud optics;
- ATMOSPHERIC COMPOSITION AND STRUCTURE;
- 0321 Cloud/radiation interaction;
- ATMOSPHERIC COMPOSITION AND STRUCTURE;
- 0360 Radiation: transmission and scattering;
- ATMOSPHERIC COMPOSITION AND STRUCTURE