Ground-based Remote Sensors Research Articles

Driftsondes: Providing In Situ Long-Duration Dropsonde Observations over Remote Regions

Constellations of driftsonde systems— gondolas floating in the stratosphere and able to release dropsondes upon command— have so far been used in three major field experiments from 2006 through 2010. With them, high-quality, high-resolution, in situ atmospheric profiles were made over extended periods in regions that are otherwise very difficult to observe. The measurements have unique value for verifying and evaluating numerical weather prediction models and global data assimilation systems; they can be a valuable resource to validate data from remote sensing instruments, especially on satellites, but also airborne or ground-based remote sensors. These applications for models and remote sensors result in a powerful combination for improving data assimilation systems. Driftsondes also can support process studies in otherwise difficult locations—for example, to study factors that control the development or decay of a tropical disturbance, or to investigate the lower boundary layer over the interior Antarctic continent. The driftsonde system is now a mature and robust observing system that can be combined with flight-level data to conduct multidisciplinary research at heights well above that reached by current research aircraft. In this article we describe the development and capabilities of the driftsonde system, the exemplary science resulting from its use to date, and some future applications.

Cloud and boundary layer interactions over the Arctic sea ice in late summer

Abstract. Observations from the Arctic Summer Cloud Ocean Study (ASCOS), in the central Arctic sea-ice pack in late summer 2008, provide a detailed view of cloud–atmosphere–surface interactions and vertical mixing processes over the sea-ice environment. Measurements from a suite of ground-based remote sensors, near-surface meteorological and aerosol instruments, and profiles from radiosondes and a helicopter are combined to characterize a week-long period dominated by low-level, mixed-phase, stratocumulus clouds. Detailed case studies and statistical analyses are used to develop a conceptual model for the cloud and atmosphere structure and their interactions in this environment. Clouds were persistent during the period of study, having qualities that suggest they were sustained through a combination of advective influences and in-cloud processes, with little contribution from the surface. Radiative cooling near cloud top produced buoyancy-driven, turbulent eddies that contributed to cloud formation and created a cloud-driven mixed layer. The depth of this mixed layer was related to the amount of turbulence and condensed cloud water. Coupling of this cloud-driven mixed layer to the surface boundary layer was primarily determined by proximity. For 75% of the period of study, the primary stratocumulus cloud-driven mixed layer was decoupled from the surface and typically at a warmer potential temperature. Since the near-surface temperature was constrained by the ocean–ice mixture, warm temperatures aloft suggest that these air masses had not significantly interacted with the sea-ice surface. Instead, back-trajectory analyses suggest that these warm air masses advected into the central Arctic Basin from lower latitudes. Moisture and aerosol particles likely accompanied these air masses, providing necessary support for cloud formation. On the occasions when cloud–surface coupling did occur, back trajectories indicated that these air masses advected at low levels, while mixing processes kept the mixed layer in equilibrium with the near-surface environment. Rather than contributing buoyancy forcing for the mixed-layer dynamics, the surface instead simply appeared to respond to the mixed-layer processes aloft. Clouds in these cases often contained slightly higher condensed water amounts, potentially due to additional moisture sources from below.

Ground-based Remote Sensing with Open-path Fourier- transform Infrared (OP-FTIR) Spectroscopy for Large-scale Monitoring of Greenhouse Gases

To successfully monitor carbon dioxide capture and storage facilities, it is necessary to select appropriate methods which can provide required information from different scales, both in desired resolutions and in real time. This paper will provide an assessment of open-path Fourier-transform infrared (OP-FTIR) spectroscopy as part of a hierarchical monitoring concept. The technology is introduced as a promising ground-based remote sensing technology for large- scale monitoring of leakage detection. Initial tests using this method were carried out at natural analogue sites where different degassing situations are present, providing optimal conditions for evaluating OP-FTIR spectroscopy capability. The application of this technology focused on determining spatial atmospheric CO2 distribution and to help obtain insights into how CO2 spreads in the vicinity of the degassing vents using scanned images.

지상원격탐사 센서를 활용한 벼의 질소시비수준 및 생체량 추정

A field experiment was conducted to selection of ground-based remote sensor and reflectance indices to estimate rice production, estimation of suitable season for ground-based remote sensor and N top dressing fertilizer application rate in 2010. application was determined by Fertilizer management standard for crops (National Academy of Agricultural Science, 2006). Four levels of N-fertilizer were applied as 0%, 70%, 100% and 130% by base N-fertilizer application and were fertilized as 70% of basal dressing and 30% as top dressing. Rice (Oryza sativa L.) of Chucheong and Joonam (Korean cultivar) were planted on May 22, 2010 in sandy loam soil and harvested on October 6, 2010. Reflectance indices were measured 7 times from July 5 to August 23 by Crop circle-amber and red version and GreenSeeker-green and red version. Remote sensing angle from the sensor head to the canopy of rice was adjusted to , and degree because of difference in the density of plant and the sensing angle. The reflectance indices obtained ground-based remote sensor were correlated with the biomass of rice at the early growth stage and at the harvest with and degree of sensor angle. The reflectance indices at the 52th Day After Transplanting (DAT) and the 59th DAT, critical season, were positively correlated with dry weight and nitrogen uptake. Specially NDVI at the 59th was significantly correlated with the mentioned parameters. Based on the result of this study, rNDVI by GreenSeeker on degree of angle at the 59th DAT in Chucheong and rNDVI by Crop Circle on degree of angle and gNDVI by GreenSeeker on degree of angle at the 59th DAT in Joonam can be useful for estimation of dry weight and nitrogen uptake. Moreover, sufficiency index estimated by reflectance index at the 59th DAT can be useful for the estimation of N-fertilizer level application and can be used as a model for N-top dressing fertilizer management.

Development of a Ground Based Remote Sensing Approach for Direct Evaluation of Aerosol-Cloud Interaction

The possible interaction and modification of cloud properties due to aerosols is one of the most poorly understood mechanisms within climate studies, resulting in the most significant uncertainty as regards radiation budgeting. In this study, we explore direct ground based remote sensing methods to assess the Aerosol-Cloud Indirect Effect directly, as space-borne retrievals are not directly suitable for simultaneous aerosol/cloud retrievals. To illustrate some of these difficulties, a statistical assessment of existing multispectral imagers on geostationary (e.g., GOES)/Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) satellite retrievals of the Cloud Droplet Effective Radius (Reff) showed significant biases especially at larger solar zenith angles, further motivating the use of ground based remote sensing approaches. In particular, we discuss the potential of using a combined Microwave Radiometer (MWR)—Multi-Filter Rotating Shadowband Radiometer (MFRSR) system for real-time monitoring of Cloud Optical Depth (COD) and Cloud Droplet Effective Radius (Reff), which are combined with aerosol vertical properties from an aerosol lidar. An iterative approach combining the simultaneous observations from MFRSR and MWR are used to retrieve the COD and Reff for thick cloud cases and are extensively validated using the DoE Southern Great Plains (SGP) retrievals as well as regression based parameterized model retrievals. In addition, we account for uncertainties in background aerosol, surface albedo and the combined measurement uncertainties from the MWR and MFRSR in order to provide realistic uncertainty estimates, which is found to be ~10% for the parameter range of interest in Aerosol-Cloud Interactions. Finally, we analyze a particular case of possible aerosol-cloud interaction described in the literature at the SGP site and demonstrate that aerosol properties obtained at the surface can lead to inconclusive results in comparison to lidar-derived aerosol properties near the cloud base.

Applicability of Ground-based Remote Sensors for Crop N Management in Sub Saharan Africa

Remote sensors have a growing legacy for improving crop N use efficiency (NUE) in several parts of the world. The technology employs crop spectral properties to determine fertilizer rates by matching crop N requirement based on midseason yield potential. Conclusions that the technology is inappropriate for Sub Saharan Africa (SSA) because the farmers use little or no fertilizer, or cannot afford it, are reviewed. Opportunities and applicability using a model concept from the GreenSeeker® sensor ($4000) are presented. Because farmers in SSA inefficiently apply fertilizer through blanket recommendations, they must improve crop NUE to minimize cost. Application of this technology would enable refinement or development of N recommendation protocols for target groups of farmers based on site and delineated management field zones. With new developments of a prototype GreenSeeker®, the Optical Pocket Sensor (<$250), this technology will definitely be affordable and applicable, at least for institutional research purposes in SSA.

Measurements and Parametrizations of the Atmospheric Boundary-Layer Height at Dome C, Antarctica

An experimental campaign, Study of the Atmospheric Boundary Layer Environmental at Dome C, was held during 2005 at the French-Italian station of Concordia at Dome C. Ground-based remote sensors, as well as in situ instrumentation, were used during the experimental campaign. The measurements allowed the direct estimation of the polar atmospheric boundary-layer height and the test of several parametrizations for the unstable and stable boundary layers. During the months of January and February, weak convection was observed while, during the polar night, a long-lived stable boundary layer occurred continuously. Under unstable stratification the mixing-layer height was determined using the sodar backscattered echoes and potential temperature profiles. The two estimations are highly correlated, with the mixing height ranging between 30 and 350 m. A simple prognostic one-dimensional model was used to estimate the convective mixing-layer height, with the correlation coefficient between observations and model results being 0.66. The boundary-layer height under stable conditions was estimated from radiosounding profiles as the height where the critical Richardson number is reached; values between 10 and 150 m were found. A visual inspection of potential temperature profiles was also used as further confirmation of the experimental height; the results of the two methods are in good agreement. Six parametrizations from the literature for the stable boundary-layer height were tested. Only the parametrization that considers the long-lived stable boundary layer and takes into account the interaction of the stable layer with the free atmosphere is in agreement with the observations.

The Occurrence of Particle Size Distribution Bimodality in Midlatitude Cirrus as Inferred from Ground-Based Remote Sensing Data

Abstract Data collected in midlatitude cirrus clouds by instruments on jet aircraft typically show particle size distributions that have distinct distribution modes in both the 10–30-μm maximum dimension (D) size range and the 200–300-μm D size range or larger. A literal interpretation of the small D mode in these datasets suggests that total concentrations Nt in midlatitude cirrus are, on average, well in excess of 1 cm−3 whereas more conventional analyses of in situ data and cloud process model results suggest Nt values a factor of 10 less. Given this wide discrepancy, questions have been raised regarding the influence of data artifacts caused by the shattering of large crystals on aircraft and probe surfaces. This inconsistency and the general nature of the cirrus particle size distribution are examined using a ground-based remote sensing dataset. An algorithm using millimeter-wavelength radar Doppler moments and Raman lidar-derived extinction is developed to retrieve a bimodal particle size distribution and its uncertainty. This algorithm is applied to case studies as well as to 313 h of cirrus measurements collected at the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement site near Lamont, Oklahoma, in 2000. It is shown that particle size distributions in cirrus can often be described as bimodal, and that this bimodality is a function of temperature and location within cirrus layers. However, the existence of Nt &amp;gt; 1 cm−3 in cirrus is rare (&amp;lt;1% of the time) and the Nt implied by the remote sensing data tends to be on the order of 100 cm−3.

Critical Evaluation of the ISCCP Simulator Using Ground-Based Remote Sensing Data

Abstract Given the known shortcomings in representing clouds in global climate models (GCMs), comparisons with observations are critical. The International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project (ISCCP) diagnostic products provide global descriptions of cloud-top pressure and column optical depth that extend over multiple decades. Given the characteristics of the ISCCP product, the model output must be converted into what the ISCCP algorithm would diagnose from an atmospheric column with similar physical characteristics. This study evaluates one component of this so-called ISCCP simulator by comparing ISCCP results with simulated ISCCP diagnostics that are derived from data collected at the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program (ARM) Southern Great Plains (SGP) Climate Research Facility. It is shown that if a model were to simulate the cloud radiative profile with the same accuracy as can be derived from the ARM data, the likelihood of that occurrence being classified with similar cloud-top pressure and optical depth as ISCCP would range from 30% to 70% depending on optical depth. The ISCCP simulator improved the agreement of cloud-top pressure between ground-based remote sensors and satellite observations, and we find only minor discrepancies because of the parameterization of cloud-top pressure in the ISCCP simulator. The differences seem to be primarily due to discrepancies between satellite and ground-based sensors in the visible optical depth. The source of the optical depth bias appears to be due to subpixel cloud field variability in the retrieval of optical depths from satellite sensors. These comparisons suggest that caution should be applied to comparisons between models and ISCCP observations until the differences in visible optical depths are fully understood. The simultaneous use of ground-based and satellite retrievals in the evaluation of model clouds is encouraged.

Detection of Fog and Low Cloud Boundaries with Ground-Based Remote Sensing Systems

Abstract The performance of the boundary determination of fog and low stratiform cloud layers with data from a frequency-modulated continuous-wave (FMCW) cloud radar and a Vaisala ceilometer is assessed. During wintertime stable episodes, fog and low stratiform cloud layers often occur in the Swiss Plateau, where the aerological station of Payerne, Switzerland, is located. During the international COST 720 Temperature, Humidity, and Cloud (TUC) profiling experiment in winter 2003/04, both a cloud radar and a ceilometer were operated in parallel, among other profiling instruments. Human eye observations (“synops”) and temperature and humidity profiles from radiosoundings were used as reference for the validation. In addition, two case studies were chosen to demonstrate the possibilities and limitations of such ground-based remote sensing systems in determining low clouds. In these case studies the cloud boundaries determined by ceilometer and cloud radar were furthermore compared with wind profiler signal-to-noise ratio time series. Under dry conditions, cloud-base and -top detection was possible in 59% and 69% of the cases for low stratus clouds and fog situations, respectively. When cases with any form of precipitation were included, performances were reduced with detection rates of 41% and 63%, respectively. The combination of ceilometer and cloud radar has the potential for providing the base and top of a cloud layer with optimal efficiency in the continuous operational mode. The cloud-top height determination by the cloud radar was compared with cloud-top heights detected using radiosounding humidity profiles. The average height difference between the radiosounding and cloud radar determination of the cloud upper boundary is 53 ± 32 m.

A Characterization of Cirrus Cloud Properties That Affect Laser Propagation

Abstract Future high-altitude laser systems may be affected by cirrus clouds. Laser transmission models were applied to measured and retrieved cirrus properties to determine cirrus impact on power incident on a target or receiver. A major goal was to see how well radiosondes and geostationary satellite imagery could specify the required properties. Based on the use of ground-based radar and lidar measurements as a reference, errors in cirrus-top and cirrus-base height estimates from radiosonde observations were 20%–25% of geostationary satellite retrieval errors. Radiosondes had a perfect cirrus detection rate as compared with 80% for satellite detection. Ice water path and effective particle size were obtained with a published radar–lidar retrieval algorithm and a documented satellite algorithm. Radar–lidar particle size and ice water path were 1.5 and 3 times the satellite retrievals, respectively. Radar–lidar-based laser extinction coefficients were 55% greater than satellite values. Measured radar–lidar cirrus thickness was consistently greater than satellite-retrieved thickness, but radar–lidar microphysical retrieval required detection by both sensors at each range gate, which limited the retrievals’ vertical extent. Greater radar–lidar extinction and greater satellite-based cirrus thickness yielded comparable optical depths for the two independent retrievals. Laser extinction–transmission models applied to radiosonde-retrieved cirrus heights and satellite-retrieved microphysical properties revealed a significant power loss by all models as the laser beam transits the cirrus layer. This suggests that cirrus location is more important than microphysics in high-altitude laser test support. Geostationary satellite imagery may be insufficient in cirrus detection and retrieval accuracy. Humidity-sensitive radiosondes are a potential proxy for ground-based remote sensors in cirrus detection and altitude determination.

On Deriving Vertical Air Motions from Cloud Radar Doppler Spectra

Abstract A method for deriving vertical air motions from cloud radar Doppler spectrum measurements is introduced. The method is applicable to cloud volumes containing small particles, in this case liquid droplets, which are assumed to trace vertical air motions because of their limited size. The presence of liquid droplets is confirmed using multiple ground-based remote sensors. Corrections for Doppler spectrum broadening due to turbulence, wind shear, and radar beamwidth are applied. As a result of the turbulence broadening correction, the turbulent dissipation rate can also be estimated. This retrieval is demonstrated using measurements from the Department of Energy (DOE) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program’s (ARM) site in Barrow, Alaska, during the Mixed-Phase Arctic Cloud Experiment (MPACE) of autumn 2004. Comparisons of the retrievals with measurements by research aircraft near Barrow indicate that, on the whole, the retrievals perform well. A small bias in vertical velocity between the retrievals and aircraft measurements is found, based on a statistical comparison of four cases comprising nearly 6 h of data. Turbulent dissipation rate comparisons suggest that the radar-retrieved vertical velocity might be slightly underestimated because of an underestimate of the turbulence broadening correction. However, large uncertainties in aircraft vertical velocity measurements likely impact the comparison.

Cloud model evaluation using radiometric measurements from the airborne multiangle imaging spectroradiometer (AirMISR)

Detailed information on cloud properties is needed to rigorously test retrieval algorithms for satellite and ground-based remote sensors. The inherent complexity of clouds makes this information difficult to obtain from observations alone and cloud resolving models (CRMs) are often used to generate synthetic datasets that can be used as proxies for real data. We test the ability of a CRM to reproduce the observed structure of low-level clouds detected by the Earth Observing System (EOS) validation program in north central Oklahoma on March 3, 2000. A three-dimensional radiative transfer model is applied to high-resolution cloud fields generated by the CRM in order to simulate the top of atmosphere radiances. These synthetic radiances are then statistically compared with observations from the airborne Multiangle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (AirMISR), flown on the NASA ER-2 high-altitude aircraft. Simulations match well the blue channel radiance distributions at oblique view angles but overestimate the minimum in reflectance at near-nadir viewing angles. The model reproduces correctly the angular change in the width of radiance distribution, as measured by the standard deviation but the change in skewness of these distributions is captured only qualitatively. The model biases are suggestive of the simulated cloud boundaries being too sharp and the distribution of the vertical liquid water path being too narrow. A power spectrum analysis shows a close agreement between simulations and observations including a break in the scaling properties of the radiance fields around 400 m. The scaling properties of the 1D power spectrum of simulated radiance at smaller scales exhibit directional dependence not seen in corresponding observations.

Ground-Based Atmospheric Remote Sensing in the Netherlands

Ground-Based Atmospheric Remote Sensing in the Netherlands

Midlatitude Cirrus Clouds Derived from Hurricane Nora: A Case Study with Implications for Ice Crystal Nucleation and Shape

Hurricane Nora traveled up the Bala Peninsula coast in the unusually warm El Nino waters of September 1997, until rapidly decaying as it approached Southern California on 24 September. The anvil cirrus blowoff from the final surge of tropical convection became embedded in subtropical flow that advected the cirrus across the western US, where it was studied from the Facility for Atmospheric Remote Sensing (FARS) in Salt Lake City, Utah. A day later, the cirrus shield remnants were redirected southward by midlatitude circulations into the Southern Great Plains, providing a case study opportunity for the research aircraft and ground-based remote sensors assembled at the Clouds and Radiation Testbed (CART) site in northern Oklahoma. Using these comprehensive resources and new remote sensing cloud retrieval algorithms, the microphysical and radiative cloud properties of this unusual cirrus event are uniquely characterized. Importantly, at both the FARS and CART sites the cirrus generated spectacular optical displays, which acted as a tracer for the hurricane cirrus, despite the limited lifetimes of individual ice crystals. Lidar polarization data indicate widespread regions of uniform ice plate orientations, and in situ particle masticator data show a preponderance of pristine, solid hexagonal plates and columns. It is suggested that these unusual aspects are the result of the mode of cirrus particle nucleation, presumably involving the lofting of sea-salt nuclei in thunderstorm updrafts into the upper troposphere. This created a reservoir of haze particles that continued to produce halide-saltcontaminated ice crystals during the extended period of cirrus cloud maintenance. The reference that marine microliters are embedded in the replicas of ice crystals collected over the CART site points to the longevity of marine effects. Various nucleation scenarios proposed for cirrus clouds based on this and other studies, and the implications for understanding cirrus radiative properties or a global scale, are discussed.

Cloud Type and Macrophysical Property Retrieval Using Multiple Remote Sensors

A cloud detection algorithm based on ground-based remote sensors has been developed that can differentiate among various atmospheric targets such as ice and water clouds, virga, precipitation, and aerosol layers. Standard cloud type and macrophysical properties are identified by combining polarization lidar, millimeter-wave radar, infrared radiometer, and dual-channel microwave radiometer measurements. These algorithms are applied to measurements collected during 1998 from the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program Cloud and Radiation Test Bed site in north-central Oklahoma. The statistical properties of clouds for this year are presented, illustrating how extended-time remote sensing datasets can be converted to cloud properties of concern to climate research.

Ground-Based Remote Sensing of Stratocumulus Properties during CLARA, 1996

A method is presented to obtain droplet concentration for water clouds from ground-based remote sensing observations. It relies on observations of cloud thickness, liquid water path, and optical extinction near the cloud base. The method was tested for two case studies (19 April 1996 and 4 September 1996) during the Clouds And Radiation experiment (CLARA). The CLARA experiment was designed to observe clouds using a variety of remote sensing instruments near the city of Delft in the western part of the Netherlands. The measurement of cloud thickness is dependent on the detection of cloud base by lidar and cloud top by radar. It is shown that during CLARA it was possible to detect cloud base with an uncertainty of less than 30 m using current lidar techniques. The agreement between in situ and remote sensing observations of droplet concentration was reasonable. An error analysis indicates that this method is most sensitive to uncertainties in liquid water path and the unknown effects of multiple scattering on lidar signal returns. When the liquid water path is very small the relative error of the liquid water path increases to unacceptable levels, so that the retrieval of droplet concentration becomes very difficult. The estimated uncertainty in the strength of multiple scattering can explain differences between observations and retrievals of droplet concentration on one day, but not the other.

The Role of Acoustic Sounding in a High-Technology Era

This paper presents a brief synopsis of past, current and anticipated progress and problems in the use of acoustic remote sensing for basic and applied research of the lower atmosphere. The potential and reality of the sodar for determination of meteorological parameters and turbulence characteristics is discussed. Sodars’ place alongside other ground-based remote sensors, including radar wind profilers, radioacoustic sounding systems (RASS) and lidars, is elucidated. Areas of atmospheric research where Doppler sodar has certain advantages are described such as cost, sensitivity, spatial and temporal resolution and surface layer measurements. The use of sodar in networks of integrated radar/RASS systems designed to supply uninterrupted monitoring of atmospheric parameters for improvements in forecasts of weather and air quality is demonstrated.

Ground-Based Remote Sensor Observations during PROBE in the Tropical Western Pacific

From 6 January to 28 February 1993, the second phase of the Pilot Radiation Observation Experiment (PROBE) was conducted in Kavieng, Papua New Guinea. Routine data taken during PROBE included radiosondes released every 6 h and 915-MHz Wind Profiler–Radio Acoustic Sounding System (RASS) observations of winds and temperatures. In addition, a dual-channel Microwave Water Substance Radiometer (MWSR) at 23.87 and 31.65 GHz and a Fourier Transform Infrared Radiometer (FTIR) were operated. The FTIR operated between 500 and 2000 cm−1 and measured some of the first high spectral resolution (1 cm−1) radiation data taken in the Tropics. The microwave radiometer provided continuous measurements within 30-s resolution of precipitable water vapor (PWV) and integrated cloud liquid, while the RASS measured virtual temperature profiles every 30 min. In addition, occasional lidar soundings of cloud-base heights were available. The MWSR and FTIR data taken during PROBE were compared with radiosonde data. Significant differences were noted between the MWSR and the radiosonde observations of PWV. The probability distribution of cloud liquid water was derived and is consistent with a lognormal distribution. During conditions that the MWSR did not indicate the presence of cloud liquid water, broadband long- and shortwave irradiance data were used to identify the presence of cirrus clouds or to confirm the presence of clear conditions. Comparisons are presented between measured and calculated radiance during clear conditions, using radiosonde data as input to a line-by-line Radiative Transfer Model. A case study is given of a drying event in which the PWV dropped from about 5.5 cm to a low of 3.8 cm during a 24-h period. The observations during the drying event are interpreted using PWV images obtained from data from the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program/Special Sensor Microwave/Imager and of horizontal flow measured by the wind profiler. The broadband irradiance data and the RASS soundings were also examined during the drying event.

Ground- and Space-Based Temperature and Humidity Retrievals: Statistical Evaluation

A near-real-time integrated temperature and water vapor sounding system has been designed and in operation since June 1993. It combines hourly data from the ground-based radio acoustic sounding system (RASS), a two-channel microwave radiometer, standard surface meteorological instruments, a lidar ceilometer, and the Aerodynamic Research Incorporated Communication, Addressing and Reporting System aboard commercial airlines with space-based data from the TIROS-N Operational Vertical Sounder (TOVS). The physical retrieval algorithm provided by the International TOVS Processing Package is used for combining the ground- and space-based temperature and humidity profiles. The first-guess profiles of temperature and humidity required by the physical retrieval algorithm arc obtained by using a statistical inversion technique and the ground-based remote sensors measurements. Statistical error estimates are presented for the hourly. near-real-time, ground-, and space-based retrieved temperature and humidity profiles based on 119 soundings collected during a two-month-long experiment conducted at Platteville, Colorado, during February and March 1994. Radiosonde data collected by the Environmental Technology Laboratory and the Winter Icing and Storms Program in Platteville and the National Weather Service in Denver, Colorado, are used for comparison. The comparison showed excellent agreement between retrieved and radiosonde soundings. Retrieved temperature profiles show better performance than the retrieved humidity profiles because of the high vertical resolution of the RASS measurements. It is suggested that adding more information from the new individual remote sensors as they develop, through the technique used here, would lead to further profiling improvements.