A Study of the Effects of Vertical Resolution and Measurement Errors on an Iteratively Inverted Temperature Profile

Abstract

A direct inversion method for inverting the temperature profile from satellite-measured radiation is discussed. The nth power of the weighting function in the integral radiative transfer equation is used as the weight in the averaging process. The vertical resolution of the inverted temperature profile and the response of the inverted temperature profile to the measurement errors are exan3ined in terms of n. It is found that for smaller values of n the vertical resolution and the effect of measurement errors are reduced. When n = 0 both the vertical resolution and error effect are minimum. The temperature profile is adjusted by a constant; any structure different from the initial shape cannot be resolved. This is equivalent to the case that the entire atmosphere is treated as one layer with a fixed shape of temperature profile. When n ? ∞, both the vertical resolution and error effect are maximum. This is equivalent to the case that the entire atmosphere is divided into m (the number of spectral channels) layers. Within each layer, the temperatures are adjusted by a constant, and any structure different from the initial shape cannot he resolved. Also, the shape of the final solution is closer to the initial profile if the value of n is smaller.