Multichannel Microwave Radiometric Observations at Saipan during the 1990 Tropical Cyclone Motion Experiment

Abstract

To estimate mesoscale variations in integrated water vapor, cloud liquid water, and temperature in a tropical region, multiwavelength microwave radiometric observations were carried out over a seven-week period on the island of Saipan during the 1990 Tropical Cyclone Motion Experiment. Methods to combine radiometric and ceilometer measurements were developed to improve both the retrieval accuracies of integrated water vapor and liquid water. The rms difference between the retrieved and radiosonde-measured integrated water vapor was 6% relative to the mean. Compared to radiosondes the temperature profiles retrieved using a linear statistical inversion technique were accurate to 1.28°C. However, since the radiometric temperature profiles were no more accurate than profiles obtained from climatology, the surface-based radiometer provided essentially no new information regarding the environmental temperature profiles.