Abstract
Abstract. A new version of the High-Resolution Infrared Radiation Sounder (HIRS) upper tropospheric water vapor channel (channel 12) brightness temperature dataset is developed using intersatellite calibrated data. In this dataset, only those pixels affected by upper tropospheric clouds are discarded. Compared to the previous version that was based on column-clear-sky data, the new version has much better daily spatial coverage. The HIRS observation patterns are compared to microwave sounder measurements. The differences between the two types of sounders vary with respect to brightness temperature with larger differences for higher (dry) values. Correlations between the HIRS upper tropospheric water vapor channel brightness temperatures and several major climate indices show strong signals during cold seasons. The selected climate indices track climate variation signals covering regions from the tropics to the poles. Qualitatively, moist signals are correlated with troughs and ascending branches of the circulation, while dry signals occur with ridges and descent. These correlations show the potential of using the upper tropospheric water vapor channel brightness temperature dataset together with a suite of many atmospheric variables to monitor regional climate changes and locate global teleconnection patterns.
Highlights
M eral major climate indices show strong signals during cold Shi and Bates (2011) intercalibrated HIRS channel 12 TB seasons
A discussion on the effect of clouds in the upper portion of the midtroposphere on humidity processing can be found in Brogniez et al (2006), which is based on the upper tropospheric water vapor channel measurement from Meteosat
Another effect may come from clouds with tops in the upper portion of the mid-troposphere
Summary
(MVIRI) and Spinning Enhanced Visible and InfraRed Imager (SEVIRI) (Vandeberg et al, 1991; Picon et al, 2003; With data starting in 1978, the High-Resolution Infrared Radiation Sounder (HIRS) has the longest record among satellite sounding measurements. To expand the applications of the data, we develop a new above-cloud HIRS channel 12 TB dataset with improved sky coverage This new dataset will be compared with previous versions and its relationship with various climate indices will be explored. An intersatellite-calibrated global HIRS channel 12 dataset since 1978 using column-clear-sky data was developed. The same intersatellite bias corrections are applied in the present study to adjust HIRS measurements to the same base satellite (NOAA-12) as that in the previous column-clear-sky version to form a climatologically homogenized time series
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