RETRIEVING OVER-OCEAN PRECIPITABLE WATER FROM THE SSM/I MEASUREMENTS WITH SEVERAL REGRESSION ALGORITHMS

A collocated SSM/I and radiosonde measurement data set provided by the NASDA(Japan)was used to retrieve the total precipitable water(PW)over oceans.The retrieval results obtainedwith several regression algorithms were compared against the radiosonde measurements.It isshown that:(a)the routinely operational algorithm of Alishouse et al.(1990)yields significantunderestimation in high PW regime and overestimation in low PW regime;(b)a cubic correctionby Colton and Poe(1994)is not sufficient and globally improves slightly the retrieval results;and(c)the regression algorithm with the form of brightness temperature(T_b)function In (280-T_b)gives a little largely scattered retrievals in whole PW range but without considerable over-andunderestimates in low and high PW regimes.To improve the estimation of the oceanic precipitablewater from the SSM/I measurements,a composite algorithm with different forms of T_b function inlow.medium and high PW regimes is proposed and tested.     

THE APPROACH TO REMOTE SENSING OF WATER VAPOR BASED ON GPS AND LINEAR REGRESSION Tm IN EASTERN REGION OF CHINA

The approach to remote sensing of water vapor by using global positioning systems(GPS) isdiscussed.In order to retrieve the vertical integrated water vapor(IWV) or the precipitable water(PW),the weighted "mean temperature" of the atmosphere,T_m would be estimated to the specificarea and season.T_m depends on surface temperature,tropospheric temperature profile,and thevertical distribution of water vapor.The surface temperature dependence is borne out by acomparison of T_m and the values of surface temperature T_s using radiosonde profiles of BeijingStation(No.54511) throughout 1992.The analysis of radiosonde profiles spanning a one-yearinterval(1992) from sites in eastern region of China with a latitude range of 20-50°N and alongitude range of 100-130°E yields the coefficients a and b of a linear regression equation T_m=a+bT_s.     

Rainfall over oceans: Remote sensing from satellite microwave radiometers

Summary Microwave radiometer brightness temperature (T _b) measurements obtained from satellites over the oceans in dual polarization, at frequencies ranging from 6.6 to 85 GHz, reveal information about the rain and precipitation sized ice. These multifrequency measurements are composited from observations made by the Scanning Multichannel Microwave Radiometer (SMMR) and the Special Sensor Microwave/Imager (SSM/I). TheT _b measurements at 37 GHz, having a field of view (fov) of about 30 km, show relatively strong emissions due to rain, reaching values as large as 260 K over the tropical and mid-latitude rainbelts. Only marginal effects due to scattering by ice above the rain clouds are revealed. At frequencies below 37 GHz, where the fov is much larger than 30 km and the extinction is weaker,T _b is significantly smaller than 260 K. Additional information content about rain, at these low frequencies, is not appreciable. On the other hand, at 85 GHz (fov 15 km), where the extinction is very strong, the sea surface below the clouds is often masked and scattering due to ice above the rain clouds is vividly noticed. However, these high frequency measurements do not yield direct information about rain below the clouds.Recognizing the above merits inherent in the 37 GHz observations the SMMR and SSM/I data at this frequency are utilized to develop and empirical method to retrieve rain rate over oceans. In this method it is assumed that over an oceanic area, the statistics of the observedT _b must be derivable from the statistics of the corresponding rain rates. Furthermore, the underestimation of rain rate, arising from the inability of the radiometer to respond sensitively to rain above a given threshold is empirically rectified with the help of two parameters that depend on the total water vapor content in the atmosphere. Rain rates deduced over the oceans around Japan using the SSM/I data, when compared with those measured by radars that are calibrated against rain gauges, show a good correlation; there is, however, a systematic overestimation. Seasonal mean maps of the rainfall over the global oceans based on SMMR data compare favorably with climatological rain maps over the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans developed by Dorman and Bourke (1979, 1981).With 16 Figures     

CRA40在中国地区GNSS水汽反演中的适用性评估与分析

基于中国气象局发布的CRA40气象再分析资料,计算地基GNSS水汽反演中涉及气压、气温、大气水汽加权平均温度（T_m）、天顶对流层总延迟（ZTD）等关键参数,并分别以地面气象站（气压、气温）、无线电探空测站（T_m）以及地基GNSS测站（ZTD）为参考,对这些参数在中国地区的精度和可靠性开展了系统的评估.计算结果与欧洲中期天气预报中心（ECWMF）最新一代ERA5产品的计算结果进行比较,结果表明：基于CRA40计算的测站处气压和ZTD的平均RMS（均方根）分别为0.91 hPa和13.5 mm,略差于ERA5;计算的测站处气温和T_m平均RMS分别为2.67 K和1.47 K,略优于ERA5.三类参数（气压、气温、ZTD）的日变化总体趋势与实际观测符合较好.     

青藏高原探空大气水汽偏差及订正方法研究

水汽是大气的主要成分和降水的主要物质来源.青藏高原大气水汽分布对区域天气和气候有很大影响,为了探讨探空观测的大气水汽总量（R）资料的可靠性,本文以地基GPS遥感的大气水汽总量（G）为参照标准,对拉萨（1999~2010年）和那曲（2003年）的R进行对比分析和偏差（R-G）订正.结果表明:近10多年拉萨站R比G明显偏小,偏小程度随使用不同的探空仪而异.GZZ-2型机械探空仪和GTS-1型电子探空仪多年平均的PW偏差分别为-8.8%和-3.9%,随机误差分别为17.6%和13.6%.近10多年PW偏差变化呈减少趋势,这与探空仪性能改进有关.分析发现,青藏高原PW偏差具有明显季节变化和日变化特征,夏季比冬季明显,1200 UTC比0000 UTC明显.拉萨站GZZ-2型和GTS-1型探空仪在1200 UTC多年平均的PW偏差分别为-15.8%和-7.3%,在0000 UTC分别为-1.6%和-0.4%.那曲站GZZ-2型探空仪在1200 UTC和0000 UTC的PW偏差分别为-12.4%和-0.3%.分析还表明,太阳辐射加热与气温的日变化和季节变化是造成高原PW偏差日变化和季节变化的重要原因.据此,提出了高原PW偏差的订正方法,并以拉萨和那曲站为例进行PW偏差订正,订正后的PW系统偏差显著减少,随机误差也相应得到了改善.     

Remote sensing of cloud liquid water

Summary A method is presented to infer cloud liquid water path (LWP in kg/m²) over the ocean from passive microwave measurements of SSM/I. The algorithm to retrieve LWP is based on simulated satellite observations. They are calculated with a radiative transfer model applied to about 3000 radiosonde ascents over the Atlantic Ocean. Since radiosonde observations do not contain direct information about cloud water and ice, these parameters are parameterized based on relative humidity and temperature using modified adiabatic liquid water density profiles. A multiple linear regression is applied to the simulated radiances and the calculated LWP to derive the algorithm. The retrieval accuracy based on the regression analysis including instrumental noise is 0.03 kg/m². Validation of the LWP-algorithm was pursued through a comparison with measurements of a ground-based 33 GHzmicrowave radiometer on board of R.V. Poseidon during the International Cirrus Experiment 1989 at the North Sea (ICE'89). The LWP values agree within the range of uncertainty caused by the different sampling characteristics of the observing systems. The retrieval accuracy for clear-sky cases determined using colocated METEOSAT data over the North Sea is 0.037 kg/m² and confirms the accuracy estimated from regression analysis for the low liquid water cases.The algorithm was used to derive maps of monthly mean LWP over the Atlantic Ocean. As an example the Octobers of the 5 years 1987–1991 were selected to demonstrate the interannual variability of LWP. The results were compared with the cloud water content produced by the climate model ECHAM-T2 from the Max-Planck-Institut Hamburg.Observations during ICE'89 were used to check the accuracy of the applied radiative transfer model. Brightness temperatures were calculated from radiosonde ascents launched during the overpass of DMSP-F8 in cloud-free situations. The channel-dependent differences range from about –2 to 3 K.The possibility to identify different cloud types using microwave and infrared observations was examined. The main conclusion is that simultaneous microwave and infrared measurements enable the separation of dense cirrus and cirrus with underlying water clouds. A classification of clouds with respect to their top heights and LWP was carried out using a combination of SSM/I derived LWP and simultaneously recorded Meteosat IR-data during ICE'89.With 11 Figures     

空基微波辐射计遥感晴天大气可降水量：不同通道组合和亮温函数形式的效果的比较分析

为了监测全球海洋上空的大气可降水量，已发射上天多种星载微波波谱仪和辐射计，相应地发展建立了多种反演算式。我们利用逐步回归分析，研究比较了反演晴天大气可降水量（PW）的多种通道组合以及算式中不同的亮温（Ta）函数形式的效果。主要结果有：（1）对应于高中低PW值有不同的最佳通道组合；（2）常选的水汽吸收中心线22.235 GHz不太适合于反演高中且变化范围大的PW值；（3）有必要建立分气候区域和分季节的反演算式；（4）在反演算式中采用ln(T0-TB)一般比线性形式有更好的回归和反演效果，但在有22.235 GHz通道时则不然；（5）反演中低或变化范围大的PW时，22.235 GHz亮温的平方项能显著改善回归和反演结果。     

Precipitable water as a predictor of LCL height

Based on the precipitable water observations easily available from in situ and remote sensing sensors, a simple approach to define the lifting condensation level (LCL) is proposed in this study. High-resolution radiosonde and microwave radiometer observations over peninsular Indian region during the Cloud Aerosol Interaction and Precipitation Enhancement Experiment Integrated Ground Observational Campaign (CAIPEEX-IGOC) during the monsoon season of 2011 are used to illustrate the unique relationship. The inferences illustrate a linear relationship between the precipitable water (PW) and the LCL temperature. This relationship is especially valuable because PW is easily available as a derived parameter from various remote sensing and ground-based observations. Thus, it could be used to estimate the LCL height and perhaps also the boundary layer height. LCL height and PW correlations are established from historical radiosonde data (1984–2012). This finding could be used to illustrate the boundary layer-cloud interactions during the monsoon and is important for parameterization of boundary layer clouds in numerical models. The relationships are illustrated to be robust and seem promising to get reasonable estimates of the LCL height over other locations as well using satellite observations of PW.

     

两种探空仪观测湿度垂直分布及其应用比较

对2010年8月在云南腾冲利用芬兰Vaisala RS80和低温霜点仪 (Cryogenic Frostpoint Hygrometer,CFH) 两种探空仪测量大气湿度的垂直分布进行对比分析,同时比较它们白天和夜间测量误差的差别,并对国产GTS1,RS80和CFH共3种探空仪测量水汽总量与地基GPS遥测结果进行比较。结果表明:RS80湿度测值在整个对流层比CFH测值偏干 (23.7±18.5)%;因太阳辐射白天RS80偏干较夜间更明显,比夜间偏干 (13.5±14.8)%。而在对流层上层向平流层过渡区域内RS80湿度数据基本无效。CFH在低温、低湿环境下对湿度能有效测量,但在湿度较高的对流层低层测值偏高,导致比较中CFH水汽总量平均比GPS遥测的水汽总量偏高 (4.3±2.0) mm (样本数为11),而RS80,GTS1与GPS的水汽总量差别分别是 (0.2±1.4) mm (样本数为12), (-0.2±2.2) mm (样本数为43)。地基GPS遥测的水汽总量对对流层上层至平流层的水汽变化不敏感。由于RS80测量相对湿度在高空偏低,通过RS80相对湿度测值来确定中、高云结果是偏低的,特别是对6000 m以上的高云判别上,RS80相对湿度的探测几乎很难甄别到云的存在。     

A comparison of SSM/I and TOVS column water vapor data over the global oceans

Summary This paper presents a comparison of column water vapor (CWV) information derived from both infrared measurements as part of the TIROS-N Operational Vertical Sounder (TOVS) and Special Sensor Microwave/Imager (SSM/I) in an attempt to assess the relative merits of each kind of data. From the analyses presented in this paper, it appears that both types of satellite data closely reproduce the bulk climatological relationships introduced in earlier studies using different data. This includes both the bulk relationship between CWV and the sea surface temperature and the annual variation of CWV over the world's oceans. The TOVS water vapor data tends to be systematically smaller than the SSM/I data and when averaged over the ocean covered regions of the globe this difference is between 2–3 kgm^–2. Using a cloud liquid water threshold technique to establish clear sky values of SSM/I water vapor, we conclude that the differences between TOVS and SSM/I are largely a result of the clear sky bias in TOVS sampling except in the subsidence regions of the subtropics. The clear sky bias is considerably smaller than previously reported and we attribute this improvement to the new physical retrieval scheme implemented by NOAA NESDIS. While there is considerable agreement between the two types of satellite data, there are also important differences. In regions where there is drying associated with large scale subsidence of the atmosphere, the TOVS CWV's are too moist relative to both radiosonde and SSM/I data and this difference may exceed 10 kgm^–2. The explanation for this difference lies in the limitations of infrared radiative transfer. By contrast, in regions of deep convection, such as in the ITCZ, TOVS CWV is systematically lower than the SSM/I CWV. Both TOVS and SSM/I data demonstrate similar kinds of gross effects of large scale circulation on the water vapor except in these subsidence regions where TOVS data leads to an under-prediction of the effects of subsidence drying.With 11 Figures     

A new method for estimation of near surface specific humidity over global oceans

Summary A new methodology for deriving daily averages of near surface specific humidity (Q _a ) is developed. Remotely sensed parameters, total water vapor (W), boundary-layer water vapor (W _b ), and sea-surface temperature (SST) are used to derive Q _a . Genetic algorithm (GA) is used to find the empirical function relating the input (W, W _b , and SST) and output (Q _a ) parameters. The input data consist of 2 years (1999–2000) of daily W, W _b , from SSM/I (Special Sensor Microwave Imager), and SST data from AVHRR (Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer). COADS (Comprehensive Ocean Atmospheric Data Set) observations of Q _a are used to develop and evaluate the new methodology. The performance of the algorithm is measured with COADS observations, which are not used in the development phase. The global mean rms error for daily averages Q _a is 1.5 ± 0.40 g/kg. Slightly higher discrepancies between Q _a derived from the new method and COADS observations are found over the Northwestern Pacific, North Atlantic oceans and Arabian Sea. This method improves upon the humidity retrieval of Liu (1986), Schulz et al (1993), and Chou et al (1997).     

地基GPS不同水汽反演方法的误差分析

利用湖北宜昌2007年观测的GPS对流层天顶延迟数据,对采用不同水汽反演方法计算的对流层可降水量PW的正确度和精密度进行对比分析。结果显示：不同天顶干延迟计算模型对GPSPW的精密度影响不大,但对其正确度有明显的影响,与探空PW相比,Hopfield模型计算的GPs册的平均偏差最小,Saastamoinen模型的平均偏差次之,而Black模型的平均偏差最大;大气加权平均温度对GPS PW的正确度有重要影响,对其进行本地化订正可以明显减小GPS PW与探空尸形的偏差,但对GPSPW的精密度影响不大;GPS PW与探空PW的相关性受大气水汽含量的影响,当大气水汽含量较低（PW≤65mm）时,两者的相关系数可达0．92,两者的平均偏差为3．8mm,偏差的均方差为6．4mm,而当大气水汽含量较大时,GPS PW与探空PW的偏差会增大,两者的相关系数会变小,这可能与GPS水汽反演方法有关;GPS PW比探空PW偏小,这可能是由两种探测方法的不同所造成的系统偏差。     

Resolving SSM/I-ship radar rainfall discrepancies from AIP-3

The third algorithm intercomparison project （AIP-3） involved rain estimates from more than 50 satellite rainfall algorithms and ground radar measurements within the Intensive Flux Array （IFA） over the equatorial western Pacific warm pool region during the Tropical Ocean Global Atmosphere coupled Ocean-Atmosphere Response Experiment （TOGA COARE）. Early results indicated that there was a sys- tematic bias between rainrates from satellite passive microwave and ground radar measurements. The mean rainrate from radar measurements is about 50% underestimated compared to that from passive microwave-based retrieval algorithms. This paper is designed to analyze rain patterns from the Florida State University rain retrieval algorithm and radar measurements to understand physically the rain discrep- ancies. Results show that there is a clear range-dependent bias associated with the radar measurements. However, this range-dependent systematical bias is almost eliminated with the corrected radar rainrates. Results suggest that the effects from radar attenuation correction, calibration and beam filling are the major sources of rain discrepancies. This study demonstrates that rain retrievals based on satellite mea- surements from passive microwave radiometers such as the Special Sensor of Microwave Imager （SSM/I） are reliable, while rain estimates from ground radar measurements are correctable.     

Different Turbulent Regimes and Vertical Turbulence Structures of the Urban Nocturnal Stable Boundary Layer

Turbulence in the nocturnal boundary layer(NBL) is still not well characterized, especially over complex underlying surfaces. Herein, gradient tower data and eddy covariance data collected by the Beijing 325-m tower were used to better understand the differentiating characteristics of turbulence regimes and vertical turbulence structure of urban the NBL. As for heights above the urban canopy layer(UCL), the relationship between turbulence velocity scale(V_TKE) and wind speed(V) was con...     

Linear retrieval and global measurement of precipitable water from the SEASAT SMMR data

Summary The Seasat Scanning Multichannel Microwave Radiometer (SMMR) measurements in the 18.0, 21.0 and 37.0 GHz channels, both horizontal and vertical polarizations, are primarily used for precipitable water, cloud liquid water content and rainfall rate determination. Linear regressions using a leaps and bounds procedure are used for the retrieval of precipitable water. The radiation simulated for all the ten SMMR channels with varied global environmental parameters were used for subset selection for water vapour retrieval. Only subsets with channels having uniform grid size (18, 21 and 37 GHz) were used for the analysis. A total of eight subsets using two to five frequencies of the SMMR are examined to determine their potential in the retrieval of atmospheric water vapour content. Our analysis indicates that the information concerning the 18 and 21 GHz channels are optimum for the water vapour retrieval. An attempt to use all the SMMR channels simultaneously gives no significant improvement. A comparison with the radiosonde observations gave an rms accuracy of 0.4 g/cm². The rms accuracy of retrieved precipitable water using different subsets was within 10 percent.Global maps of precipitable water over oceans using two and five channels retrieval are given. These maps are generated on a 10 day average basis as well as on monthly basis for the period 7 July to 6 August 1978. An analysis of these Global maps reveals the possibility of global moisture distribution associated with oceanic currents and large scale general circulation in the atmosphere. A stable feature of the large scale circulation is noticed. The precipitable water is maximum over the Bay of Bengal and in the North Pacific over the Kuroshio current and shows general latitudinal pattern.With 5 Figures     

Estimation of precipitable water at different locations using surface dew-point

Summary The Reitan (1963) regression equation of the form lnw =a +bT _d has been examined and tested to estimate precipitable water vapor content from the surface dew point temperature at different locations. The results of this study indicate that the slopeb of the above equation has a constant value of 0.0681, while the intercepta changes rapidly with latitude. The use of the variable intercept technique can improve the estimated result by about 2%.With 6 Figures     

中国区域大气加权平均温度的时空变化及模型

大气加权平均温度T_m是地基GPS水汽遥感的关键参数,决定了水汽反演的精度。利用2008—2011年全国123个探空站点资料,分析了T_m与其影响要素纬度、海拔、地面气温、水汽压及大气压之间的关系,结果表明:T_m与纬度和海拔随季节变化呈周期性负相关,与地面温度和水汽压的自然对数呈正相关,与大气压呈负相关;T_m的空间变化具有纬度地带性和明显的气候分布特征,其变异程度在空间分布上有显著差别,不同地理位置的T_m受季节性影响程度不一,T_m也具有明显的年际周期性变化,年内T_m的每日变化符合二次函数分布规律。按照全国、气候分区和季节分区方法,分别建立了T_m单因子和多因子回归模型,并利用2012年1—5月数据对所建模型进行验证,T_m的估算误差能满足GPS水汽遥感2%的精度,模型普遍适用于我国地基GPS水汽遥感中T_m的估算。     

Rain rate estimation from a synergetic use of SSM/I, AVHRR and meso-scale numerical model data

Summary In this paper a retrieval technique for estimating rainfall rates is introduced. The novel feature of this technique is the combination of two satellite radiometers — the Special Sensor Microwave/Imager (SSM/I) and the Advanced Very High-Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) — with mesoscale weather prediction model data. This offers an adjustment of the model atmospheres to reality which is necessary for calculating brightness temperatures that can be compared with microwave satellite measurements.In sensitivity studies it was found that the estimation of precipitation is determined to a high degree by the particle size distribution of rain and snow, especially by the size distribution of solid hydrometeors. These studies also reveal the influence of the knowledge of the correct cloud coverage inside a SSM/I pixel and the importance of using a realistic temperature profile instead of using standard atmospheres.The retrieval technique is based on radiative transfer calculations using the model of Kummerow et al. (1989). The algorithm consists of two parts: First Guess (FG) brightness temperatures for the SSM/I frequencies are generated as a function of the cloud top height and the cloud coverage, derived from AVHRR data and predictions from a meso-scale model. The rainfall rate of different types of clouds containing raindrops, ice particles and coexisting ice and water hydrometeors is then calculated as a function of the cloud top height. As an example, a strong convective rain event over the western part of Europe and over the Alps is taken to evaluate the performance of this technique. Good agreement with radar data from the German Weather Service was achieved. Compared to statistical rainfall algorithms, the current algorithm shows a better performance of detecting rainfall areas.With 12 Figures     

Trends and variability in column-integrated atmospheric water vapor

An analysis and evaluation has been performed of global datasets on column-integrated water vapor (precipitable water). For years before 1996, the Ross and Elliott radiosonde dataset is used for validation of European Centre for Medium-range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) reanalyses ERA-40. Only the special sensor microwave imager (SSM/I) dataset from remote sensing systems (RSS) has credible means, variability and trends for the oceans, but it is available only for the post-1988 period. Major problems are found in the means, variability and trends from 1988 to 2001 for both reanalyses from National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) and the ERA-40 reanalysis over the oceans, and for the NASA water vapor project (NVAP) dataset more generally. NCEP and ERA-40 values are reasonable over land where constrained by radiosondes. Accordingly, users of these data should take great care in accepting results as real. The problems highlight the need for reprocessing of data, as has been done by RSS, and reanalyses that adequately take account of the changing observing system. Precipitable water variability for 1988–2001 is dominated by the evolution of ENSO and especially the structures that occurred during and following the 1997–98 El Niño event. The evidence from SSM/I for the global ocean suggests that recent trends in precipitable water are generally positive and, for 1988 through 2003, average 0.40±0.09 mm per decade or 1.3±0.3% per decade for the ocean as a whole, where the error bars are 95% confidence intervals. Over the oceans, the precipitable water variability relates very strongly to changes in SSTs, both in terms of spatial structure of trends and temporal variability (with a regression coefficient for 30°N–30°S of 7.8% K^?1) and is consistent with the assumption of fairly constant relative humidity. In the tropics, the trends are also influenced by changes in rainfall which, in turn, are closely associated with the mean flow and convergence of moisture by the trade winds. The main region where positive trends are not very evident is over Europe, in spite of large and positive trends over the North Atlantic since 1988. A much longer time series is probably required to obtain stable patterns of trends over the oceans, although the main variability could probably be deduced from past SST and associated precipitation variations.     

Parameterizing turbulent exchange over sea ice: the ice station weddell results

A 4-month deployment on Ice Station Weddell (ISW) in the western Weddell Sea yielded over 2000 h of nearly continuous surface-level meteorological data, including eddy-covariance measurements of the turbulent surface fluxes of momentum, and sensible and latent heat. Those data lead to a new parameterization for the roughness length for wind speed, z₀, for snow-covered sea ice that combines three regimes: an aerodynamically smooth regime, a high-wind saltation regime, and an intermediate regime between these two extremes where the macroscale or `permanent' roughness of the snow and ice determines z₀. Roughness lengths for temperature, z_T, computed from this data set corroborate the theoretical model that Andreas published in 1987. Roughness lengths for humidity,z_Q, do not support this model as conclusively but are all, on average, within an order of magnitude of its predictions. Only rarely arez_Tand z_Q equal to z₀. These parameterizations have implications for models that treat the atmosphere-ice-ocean system.