Computation of Upper Tropospheric Reference Heights From Winds for Use With Vertical Temperature Profile Observations

Abstract

A method is presented for combining remotely measured temperature soundings and wind data to provide a pressure-height reference level in the upper troposphere. In an initial phase of the study, balanced heights over North America were computed solely from standard wind reports and were found to conform closely to comparable National Meteorological Center height analyses. For oceanic application, height values from processed satellite infrared spectrometer (SIRS) data were objectively analyzed to obtain a geostrophic wind field. This wind field was used as a first guess in analyzing winds reported by commercial aircraft. The various terms of the balance equation were computed from the gridpoint winds, and balanced heights were determined by relaxation. These balanced heights blend temperature profile observations and wind data. They were used as upper level reference heights, and SIRS thickness values were subtracted from them to obtain height fields in the lower troposphere. Some typical results are illustrated.