Validation of upper-tropospheric humidity from SAPHIR on board Megha-Tropiques using tropical soundings

Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology

Volumn 54, Issue 4, 2015, Pages 896-908

  Brogniez, Hélène ^a   Clain, Gaëlle ^a   Roca, Rémy ^b  

^a SERVICE D AÉRONOMIE DU CNRS   (France)

^b LEGOS   (France)

Author keywords

Humidity; Microwave observations; Satellite observations; Soundings; Water vapor

Indexed keywords

ATMOSPHERIC HUMIDITY; BUDGET CONTROL; CLIMATOLOGY; MEAN SQUARE ERROR; STORMS; TEMPERATURE MEASUREMENT; TROPOSPHERE; UNCERTAINTY ANALYSIS; WATER ABSORPTION;

BRIGHTNESS TEMPERATURE MEASUREMENT; INTRASEASONAL VARIABILITY; MESOSCALE CONVECTIVE SYSTEM; MICROWAVE OBSERVATIONS; SATELLITE OBSERVATIONS; SOUNDINGS; TEMPORAL AND SPATIAL SCALE; WATER VAPOR ABSORPTION BANDS;

WATER VAPOR;

BRIGHTNESS TEMPERATURE; MICROWAVE IMAGERY; RADIOMETER; RELATIVE HUMIDITY; SATELLITE IMAGERY; TROPOSPHERE; WATER VAPOR;

BURKINA FASO; OUAGADOUGOU;

EID: 84943798212     PISSN: 15588424     EISSN: 15588432     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1175/JAMC-D-14-0096.1     Document Type: Article

References (66)

1. Bates, J. J., D. L. Jackson, F.-M. Bréon, and Z. D. Bergen, 2001: Variability of tropical upper tropospheric humidity 1979-1998. J. Geophys. Res., 106, 32271-32281, doi:10.1029/2001JD000347.
2. Brogniez, H., and R. T. Pierrehumbert, 2006: Using microwave observations to assess large-scale control of the free tropospheric water vapor in the mid-latitudes. Geophys. Res. Lett., 33, L14801, doi:10.1029/2006GL026240.
3. Brogniez, H., L. Picon, and R. Roca, 2004: Interannual and intraseasonal variabilities of the free tropospheric humidity using Meteosat water vapor channel channel over the tropics. Proc. EUMETSAT Meteorological Satellite Conf., Prague, Czech Republic, EUMETSAT. [Available online at http://brogniez.page.latmos.ipsl.fr/docs/proceeding_Eumetsat2004.pdf.]
4. Brogniez, H., R. Roca, and L. Picon, 2005: Evaluation of the distribution of subtropical free tropospheric humidity in AMIP-2 simulations using METEOSAT water vapor channel data. Geophys. Res. Lett., 32, L19708, doi:10.1029/2005GL024341.
5. Brogniez, H., R. Roca, and L. Picon, 2009: A study of the free tropospheric humidity interannual variability using METEOSAT data and an advection-condensation transport model. J. Climate, 22, 6773-6787, doi:10.1175/2009JCLI2963.1.
6. Brogniez, H., P.-E. Kirstetter, and L. Eymard, 2013: Expected improvements in the atmospheric humidity profile retrieval using the Megha-Tropiques microwave payload. Quart. J. Roy. Meteor. Soc., 139, 842-851, doi:10.1002/qj.1869.
7. Buehler, S. A., and V. O. John, 2005: A simple method to relate microwave radiances to upper tropospheric humidity. J. Geophys. Res., 110, D02110, doi:10.1029/2004JD005111.
8. Buehler, S. A., M. Kuvatov, V. O. John, M. Milz, B. J. Soden, D. L. Jackson, and J. Notholt, 2008: An upper tropospheric humidity data set from operational satellite microwave data. J. Geophys. Res., 113, D14110, doi:10.1029/2007JD009314.
9. Cabrera-Mercader, C. R., and D. H. Staelin, 1995: Passive microwave relative humidity retrievals using feedforward neural networks. IEEE Trans. Geosci. Remote Sens., 33, 1324-1328, doi:10.1109/36.477189.
10. Chen, Y., Y. Han, P. van Delst, and F. Weng, 2010: On water vapor Jacobian in fast radiative transfer model. J. Geophys. Res., 115, D12303, doi:10.1029/2009JD013379.
11. Chevallier, F., 2002: Sampled databases of 60-level atmospheric profiles from the ECMWF analysis. EUMETSAT SAF Program Research Rep. NWPSAF-EC-TR-004, 27 pp.
12. Chevallier, F., A. Chédin, F. Chéruy, and J.-J. Morcrette, 2000: TIGR-like atmospheric-profile databases for accurate radiative-flux computation. Quart. J. Roy. Meteor. Soc., 126, 777-785, doi:10.1002/qj.49712656319.
13. Chung, E.-S., and B. J. Soden, 2009: A satellite-based assessment of upper-tropospheric water vapor measurements during AFWEX. J. Appl. Meteor. Climatol., 48, 2284-2294, doi:10.1175/2009JAMC2250.1.
14. Chung, E.-S., and B. J. Soden, B.-J. Sohn, and J. Schmetz, 2011: Model-simulated humidity bias in the upper troposphere and its relation to the largescale circulation. J. Geophys. Res., 116, D10110, doi:10.1029/2011JD015609.
15. Ciesielski, P. E., and Coauthors, 2014: Quality-controlled upper-air sounding dataset for DYNAMO/CINDY/AMIE: Development and corrections. J. Atmos. Oceanic Technol., 31, 741-764, doi:10.1175/JTECH-D-13-00165.1.
16. Clain, G., H. Brogniez, V. H. Payne, V. O. John, and M. Luo, 2014: An assessment of SAPHIR calibration using high quality tropical soundings. J. Atmos. Oceanic Technol., 32, 61-78, doi:10.1175/JTECH-D-14-00054.1.
17. Del Genio, A. D., 2011: Representing the sensitivity of convective cloud systems to tropospheric humidity in general circulation models. Surv. Geophys., 33, 637-656, doi:10.1007/s10712-011-9148-9.
18. Desbois, M., R. Roca, L. Eymard, N. Viltard, M. Viollier, J. Srinivasan, and S. Narayanan, 2003: The Megha-Tropiques mission. Atmospheric and Oceanic Processes, Dynamics, and Climate Change, Z. Sun, F.-F, Jin, and T. Iwasaki, Eds., International Society for Optical Engineering (SPIE Proceedings, Vol. 4899), 172, doi:10.1117/12.466703.
19. Desbois, M., M. Capderou, L. Eymard, R. Roca, N. Viltard, M. Viollier, and N. Karouche, 2007: Megha Tropiques, un satellite hydrométéorologique franco-indien (Megha Tropiques, a FrenchIndian hydrometeorological satellite). Meteorologie, 57, 19-27, doi:10.4267/2042/18185.
20. Dessler, A. E., and S. C. Sherwood, 2009: A matter of humidity. Science, 323, 1020-1021, doi:10.1126/science.1171264.
21. Dirksen, R. J., M. Sommer, F. J. Immler, D. F. Hurst, R. Kivi, and H. Vömel, 2014: Reference quality upper-air measurements: GRUAN data processing for the Vaisala RS92 radiosonde. Atmos. Meas. Technol., 7, 4463-4490, doi:10.5194/amt-7-4463-2014.
22. English, S. J., and T. J. Hewison, 1999: A fast generic millimeterwave emissivity model. Microwave Remote Sensing of the Atmosphere and Environment, T. Hayasaka et al., Eds., International Society for Optical Engineering (SPIE Proceedings, Vol. 3503), 288-300, doi:10.1117/12.319490.
23. Eymard, L., and Coauthors, 2002: The SAPHIR humidity sounder. Notes des activités instrumentales de l'IPSL 24, 17 pp.
24. Garand, L., and Coauthors, 2001: Radiance and Jacobian intercomparison of radiative transfer models applied to HIRS and AMSU channels. J. Geophys. Res., 106, 24 017-24 031, doi:10.1029/2000JD000184.
25. GCOS, 2013: The GCOS Reference Upper-Air Network (GRUAN) guide. WMO Integrated Global Observing System Tech. Rep. 2013-03/Global Climate Observing System Rep. GCOS-171, 116 pp. [Available online at http://www.wmo.int/pages/prog/gcos/Publications/gcos-171.pdf.]
26. Gierens, K., K. Eleftheratos, and L. Shi, 2014: 30 years of HIRS data of upper tropospheric humidity. Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 7533-7541, doi:10.5194/acp-14-7533-2014.
27. Gohil, B. S., R. M. Gairola, A. K. Mathur, A. K. Varma, C. Mahesh, R. K. Gangwar, and P. K. Pal, 2013: Algorithms for retrieving geophysical parameters from the MADRAS and SAPHIR sensors of the Megha-Tropiques satellite: Indian scenario. Quart. J. Roy. Meteor. Soc., 139, 954-963, doi:10.1002/qj.2041.
28. Goldberg, M. D., D. S. Crosby, and L. Zhou, 2001: The limb adjustment of AMSU-A observations: Methodology and validation. J. Appl. Meteor., 40, 70-83, doi:10.1175/1520-0450(2001)040<0070:TLAOAA>2.0.CO;2.
29. Greenwald, T. J., and S. A. Christopher, 2002: Effect of cold clouds on satellite measurements near 183 GHz. J. Geophys. Res., 107, 4170, doi:10.1029/2000JD000258.
30. Held, I. M., and B. J. Soden, 2000: Water vapor feedback and global warming. Annu. Rev. Energy Environ., 25, 441-475, doi:10.1146/annurev.energy.25.1.441.
31. Held, I. M., and K. M. Shell, 2012: Using relative humidity as a state variable in climate analysis. J. Climate, 25, 2578-2582, doi:10.1175/JCLI-D-11-00721.1.
32. Hong, G., G. Heygster, J. Miao, and K. Kunzi, 2005: Detection of tropical deep convective clouds from AMSU-B water vapor channels measurements. J. Geophys. Res., 110, D05205, doi:10.1029/2004JD004949.
33. Hong, G., G. Heygster, J. Notholt, and S. A. Buehler, 2008: Interannual to diurnal variations in tropical and subtropical deep convective clouds and convective overshooting from seven years of AMSU-B measurements. J. Climate, 21, 4168-4189, doi:10.1175/2008JCLI1911.1.
34. Hurley, J. V., and J. Galewsky, 2010: A last saturation diagnosis of subtropical water vapor response to global warming. Geophys. Res. Lett., 37, L06702, doi:10.1029/2009GL042316.
35. Immler, F.J., J.Dykema, T.Gardiner, D.N.Whiteman, P.W.Thorne, and H. Vömel, 2010: Reference quality upper-air measurements: Guidance for developing GRUAN data products. Atmos. Meas. Technol., 3, 1217-1231, doi:10.5194/amt-3-1217-2010.
36. Jackson, D. L., and J. J. Bates, 2001: Upper tropospheric humidity algorithm assessment. J. Geophys. Res., 106D, 32259-32270, doi:10.1029/2001JD000348.
37. Karouche, N., C. Goldstein, A. Rosak, C. Malassingne, and G. Raju, 2012: Megha-Tropiques satellite mission: In flight performances results. Proc. Int. Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symp., Munich Germany, IEEE, 4684-4687.
38. Kelly, B. C., 2007: Some aspects of measurement errors in linear regression of astronomical data. Astrophys. J., 665, 1489-1506, doi:10.1086/519947.
39. Matricardi, M., F. Chevallier, G. Kelly, and J.-N. Thépaut, 2004: An improved general fast radiative transfer model for the assimilation of radiance observations. Quart. J. Roy. Meteor. Soc., 130, 153-173, doi:10.1256/qj.02.181.
40. Miloshevich, L. M., A. Paukkunen, H. Vömel, and S. J. Oltmans, 2004: Development and validation of a time lag correction for Vaisala radiosonde humidity measurements. J. Atmos. Oceanic Technol., 21, 1305-1327, doi:10.1175/1520-0426(2004)021<1305:DAVOAT>2.0.CO;2.
41. Miloshevich, L. M., H. Vömel, D. N. Whiteman, and T. Leblanc, 2009: Accuracy assessment and correction of Vaisala RS92 radiosonde water vapormeasurements. J. Geophys. Res., 114, D11305, doi:10.1029/2008JD011565.
42. Nash, J., T. Oakley, H. Vömel, and L. Wei, 2011: WMO intercomparison of high quality radiosonde systems. World Meteorological Organization Instruments and Observing Methods Rep. 107, WMO/TD-No. 1580, 238 pp. [Available online at http://www.wmo.int/pages/prog/www/IMOP/publications/IOM-107_Yangjiang.pdf.]
43. Pierrehumbert, R. T., 1995: Thermostats, radiator fins, and the local runaway greenhouse. J. Atmos. Sci., 52, 1784-1806, doi:10.1175/1520-0469(1995)052<1784:TRFATL>2.0.CO;2.
44. Pierrehumbert, R. T., and R. Roca, 1998: Evidence for control of Atlantic subtropical humidity by large-scale advection. Geophys. Res. Lett., 25, 4537-4540, doi:10.1029/1998GL900203.
45. Prigent, C., F. Aires, and W. B. Rossow, 2006: Land surface microwave emissivities over the globe for a decade. Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 87, 1573-1584, doi:10.1175/BAMS-87-11-1573.
46. Roca, R., P. Chambon, I. Jobard, P.-E. Kirstetter, M. Gosset, and J.-C. Bergès, 2010: Comparing satellite and surface rainfall products over West Africa at meteorologically relevant scales during the AMMA campaign using error estimates. J. Appl. Meteor. Climatol., 49, 715-731, doi:10.1175/2009JAMC2318.1.
47. Roca, R., R.Guzman, J.Lemond, J.Meijers, L.Picon, andH.Brogniez, 2011: Tropicalandextra-tropicalinfluencesonthedistribution of free tropospheric humidity over the intertropical belt. Surv. Geophys., 33, 565-583, doi:10.1007/s10712-011-9169-4.
48. Ryoo, J.-M., D. W. Waugh, and A. Gettelman, 2008: Variability of subtropicaluppertropospherichumidity. Atmos. Chem. Phys., 8, 2643-2655, doi:10.5194/acp-8-2643-2008.
49. Saunders, R. W., T. J. Hewison, S. J. Stringer, and N. C. Atkinson, 1995: The radiometric characterization of AMSU-B. IEEE Trans. Microwave Theory, 43, 760-771, doi:10.1109/22.375222.
50. Saunders, R. W., M. Matricardi, and P. Brunel, 1999: An improved fast radiative transfer model for assimilation of satellite radiance observation. Quart. J. Roy. Meteor. Soc., 125, 1407-1425, doi:10.1002/qj.1999.49712555615.
51. Schaerer, G., and T. T. Wilheit, 1979: A passive microwave technique for profiling of atmospheric water vapor. Radio Sci., 14, 371-375, doi:10.1029/RS014i003p00371.
52. Schmetz, J., and O. M. Turpeinen, 1988: Estimation of the upper tropospheric relative humidity field Meteosat water vapor image data. J. Appl. Meteor., 27, 889-899, doi:10.1175/1520-0450(1988)027<0889:EOTUTR>2.0.CO;2.
53. Schröder, M., R. Roca, L.Picon, A.Kniffka, and H.Brogniez, 2014: Climatology of free tropospheric humidity: Extension to the SEVIRIera, evaluationandexemplaryanalysis. Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 11129-11148, doi:10.5194/acp-14-11129-2014.
54. Seidel, D. J., and Coauthors, 2009: Reference upper-air observations for climate: Rationale, progress, and plans. Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 90, 361-369, doi:10.1175/2008BAMS2540.1.
55. Sherwood, S. C., E. R. Kursinski, and W. G. Read, 2006: A distribution law for free-tropospheric relative humidity. J. Climate, 19, 6267-6277, doi:10.1175/JCLI3978.1.
56. Sherwood, S. C., W. Ingram, Y. Tsushima, M. Satoh, M. Roberts, P. L. Vidale, and P. A. O'Gorman 2010: Relative humidity changes in a warmer climate. J. Geophys. Res., 115, D09104, doi:10.1029/2009JD012585.
57. Sherwood, S. C., R. Roca, T. M. Weckwerth, and N. G. Andronova 2010: Tropospheric water vapor, convection and climate. Rev. Geophys., 48, RG2001, doi:10.1029/2009RG000301.
58. Sivira, R. G., H. Brogniez, C. Mallet, and Y. Oussar, 2015: A layeraveraged relative humidity profile retrieval for microwave observations: Design and results for the Megha-Tropiques payload. Atmos. Meas. Techniques, 8, 1055-1071, doi:10.5194/amt-8-1055-2015.
59. Soden, B. J., and F. P. Bretherton, 1993: Upper tropospheric relative humidity from the GOES 6.7 mm channel: Method and climatology for July 1987. J. Geophys. Res., 98, 16669-16688, doi:10.1029/93JD01283.
60. Soden, B. J., D. L. Jackson, V. Ramaswamy, M. D. Schwarzkopf, and X. Huang, 2005: The radiative signature of upper tropospheric moistening. Science, 310, 841-844, doi:10.1126/science.1115602.
61. Spencer, R. W., and W. D. Braswell, 1997: How dry is the tropical free troposphere? Implications for a global warming theory. Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 78, 1097-1106, doi:10.1175/1520-0477(1997)078<1097:HDITTF>2.0.CO;2.
62. Stephens, G. L., D. L. Jackson, and I. Wittmeyer, 1996: Global observations of upper-tropospheric water vapor derived from TOVS radiance data. J. Climate, 9, 305-326, doi:10.1175/1520-0442(1996)009<0305:GOOUTW>2.0.CO;2.
63. Vömel, H., and Coauthors, 2007: Radiation dry bias of the Vaisala RS92 humidity sensor. J. Atmos. Oceanic Technol., 24, 953-963, doi:10.1175/JTECH2019.1.
64. Wang, J., L. Zhang, A. Dai, F. Immler, M. Sommer, and H. Vömel, 2013: Radiation dry bias correction of Vaisala RS92 humidity data and its impact on historical radiosonde data. J. Atmos. OceanicTechnol., 30, 197-214, doi:10.1175/JTECH-D-12-00113.1.
65. Wang, J. R., and L. A. Chang, 1990: Retrieval of water vapor profiles from microwave radiometric measurements near 90 and 183GHz. J. Appl. Meteor., 29, 1005-1013, doi:10.1175/1520-0450(1990)029<1005:ROWVPF>2.0.CO;2.
66. Wilheit, T. T., 1990: An algorithm for retrieving water vapor profiles in clear and cloudy atmospheres from 183 GHz radiometric measurements: Simulation studies. J. Appl. Meteor., 29, 508-515, doi:10.1175/1520-0450(1990)029<0508:AAFRWV>2.0.CO;2.