Determination of Atmospheric Temperature Profiles from a Statistical Combination of Ground-Based Profiler and Operational NOAA 6/7 Satellite Retrievals

Abstract

Radiometric soundings from the Wave Propagation Laboratory's ground-based Profiler, the NOAA 6/7 satellites, and the combination of the two, were compared in their ability to derive temperature and moisture profiles. Radiosonde data for the period December 1981-December 1982, taken by the National Weather Service at Stapleton International Airport, Denver, Colorado, were used as ?ground-truth? for the comparison; in all, 460 soundings were analyzed. The set of soundings contained 216 clear, 173 partly cloudy and 71 cloudy cases. Comparisons show that Profiler retrievals were more accurate than those of the satellite in the lowest 500 mb of the atmosphere, with the converse being true above that level. The combined temperature retrievals were more accurate, in the rms sense, than either of the separate retrievals at every level from the surface to 10 mb. Below 50 mb, the maximum rms difference of the combined system from radiosondes was 2.7 K; below 300 mb, it was 2.0 K. Geopotential heights and pressure thicknesses were also derived from the combined system with an accuracy approaching that of a radiosonde.