Atmospheric soundings from satellites—false expectation or the key to improved weather prediction?

Abstract

Temperature and water vapour soundings from satellites have been available for more than 20 years. Because of the global nature of these data, satellite soundings were expected to improve significantly global numerical weather prediction (NWP). Indeed, experiments with the satellite soundings provided during the Global Weather Experiment (GWE) in 1979 revealed the positive impact of these data on extended‐range forecasts, particularly in the southern hemisphere. Unfortunately, since the GWE, the value of satellite soundings has apparently diminished. I believe this to be due largely to improvements in the models which have surpassed the inherently poor vertical resolution of these data relative to that of the contemporary NWP models. The satellite data can even degrade the analysis/forecast operation through the aliasing of small‐scale features which may be properly represented by the vertical scale resolved by the model. This lecture addresses, from a historical perspective, the dilemma of the decreasing value of satellite soundings in the weather‐forecast application (i.e., the reasons for the unfulfilled expectations of these data). Attention is then turned to the improvements in the satellite technology and the application techniques needed to reverse this trend.

Hyperspectral sounding: a revolutionary advance in atmospheric remote sensing

“…Because clouds interfered with the measurements of the troposphere, these spectrometers were soon replaced with much higher spatial resolution filter radiometers (ITPR, VTPR, and the HIRS) that have provided the sounding data for operational use since the early 1970s. However, it was known from the beginning, that the vertical resolution of these instruments was too poor to be a replacement for the balloon sounding system or to provide the spatial resolution really needed to revolutionize global weather prediction 1 . The evolution of the science of hyper-spectral atmospheric sounding began during the late 1970s.…”

Typhoon cloud phase analysis with MODIS remote sensing data

“…Remote sensing data provide a lot of message about atmosphere situation, weather evolution and forecast for Typhoon [1][2]. Based on the method of cloud recognition with MODIS data [3], the typhoon case has been analyzed.…”

A satellite‐based estimate of evapotranspiration over Amazonia

“…However, it is in these two respects that Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-GOES-excels. Beginning in 1981 each GOES has carried a Visible and Infrared Spin Scan Radiometer (VISSR) Atmospheric Sounder (Chesters et al, 1982;Smith, 1991). VAS was designed in part to provide information on moisture in the atmosphere.…”