Dust altitude and infrared optical depth from AIRS

International audienceWe show that mineral dust optical depth and altitude can be retrieved from the Aqua – Advanced Infrared Radiation Sounder (AIRS) measurements. Sensitivity studies performed with a high spectral resolution radiative transfer code show that dust effect on brightness temperatures may reach about 10 Kelvins for some channels. Using a Look-Up-Table approach, we retrieve not only the 10 µm optical depth but also the altitude of Saharan dust layer, above the Atlantic Ocean, from April to September 2003. A key point of our method relies in its ability to retrieve dust altitude from satellite observations. The time and space distribution of the optical depth is in good agreement with the Moderate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) products. Comparing MODIS and AIRS aerosol optical depths, we find that the ratio between infrared and visible optical depths decreases during transport from 0.35 to 0.22, revealing a loss in coarse particles caused by gravitational settling. The evolution of dust altitude from spring to summer is in agreement with the transport seasonality

Comparison of cloud products within IASI footprints for the assimilation of cloudy radiances

This article compares different methods of deriving cloud properties in the footprint of the Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer (IASI), onboard the European MetOp satellite. Cloud properties produced by ten operational schemes are assessed and an intercomparison of the products for a 12 h global acquisition is presented. Clouds cover a large part of the Earth, contaminating most of the radiance data. The estimation of cloud top height and effective amount within the sounder footprint is an important step towards the direct assimilation of cloud-affected radiances. This study first examines the capability of all the schemes to detect and characterize the clouds for all complex situations and provides some indications of confidence in the data. Then the dataset is restricted to thick overcast single layers and the comparison shows a significant agreement between all the schemes. The impact of the retrieved cloud properties on the residuals between calculated cloudy radiances and observations is estimated in the long-wave part of the spectrum

Impact Evaluation of Assimilating Surface Sensitive Infrared Radiance Observations over Land and Sea Ice from Observing System Simulation Experiments

In this study, Observing System Simulation Experiments (OSSEs) are conducted to analyze the impact of assimilating surface sensitive infrared radiance observations over land and sea ice. This type of assimilation has not yet been successfully implemented at operational weather centers. Infrared radiance from AIRS (Atmospheric Infrared Sounder) and IASI (Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer) is simulated from the Nature Run (NR) provided by European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts and assimilated in a 3D-Var. analysis system. A control simulation was generated excluding the new data source, but including all data assimilated operationally at the Canadian Meteorological Center. Experiments were conducted allowing surface sensitive channels to be assimilated over all surfaces or excluding Polar Regions. Resulting forecasts were intercompared and validated against NR fields. Results indicate significant positive impacts in the tropics and Southern Hemisphere extratropics and more modest impacts in the Northern Hemisphere extratropics. Some limitations of the OSSE approach are identified, linked to the different forecast systems used for the NR and the assimilation and higher cloud contamination in Polar Regions. This analysis provides useful insight in preparation for the assimilation of real radiance observations

Dust altitude and infrared optical depth from AIRS

We show that mineral dust optical depth and altitude can be retrieved from the Aqua - Advanced Infrared Radiation Sounder (AIRS) measurements. Sensitivity studies performed with a high spectral resolution radiative transfer code show that dust effect on brightness temperatures may reach about 10 Kelvins for some channels. Using a Look-Up-Table approach, we retrieve not only the 10 µm optical depth but also the altitude of Saharan dust layer, above the Atlantic Ocean, from April to September 2003. A key point of our method is its ability to retrieve dust altitude from satellite observations. The time and space distribution of the optical depth is in good agreement with the Moderate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) products. Comparing MODIS and AIRS aerosol optical depths, we find that the ratio between infrared and visible optical depths decreases during transport from 0.35 to 0.22, revealing a loss in coarse particles caused by gravitational settling. The evolution of dust altitude from spring to summer is in agreement with current knowledge on transport seasonality

Density of loosely bound states in a triatomic molecule: The role of long range interactions

The influence of the long range forces between an atom and a diatomic fragment on the density of vibrational bound states is studied theoretically in the vicinity of the dissociation threshold of a model triatomic molecule. In the two-dimensional case (2D), where the non dissociating bond is frozen at the equilibrium geometry, the number of quantum states and their density is shown to increase quickly in a small energy interval close to the dissociation threshold D-o, due to the long range forces between the fragments. In addition to the strongly coupled states already known at low energies, a new family of states emerges, whose wavefunctions extend to large internuclear distances and correspond to orbiting motion of the two fragments around each other. The semiclassical number of states in 2D is shown to be in excellent agreement with the exact quantum mechanical result. In contrast, semiclassical calculations of the three-dimensional (3D) density and number of states completely fail in the vicinity of the dissociation limit, because of the quantum character of the high frequency vibration of the diatomic fragment. An adiabatic approach is proposed and discussed, that allows one to estimate the 3D density of states close to the dissociation threshold

Comparison of radiative transfer models for AIRS

Many of the results of this study are presented in the paper included in the ITSC-14 proceedings by Saunders et. al. (2005) and a paper by Saunders et. al. (2006) about to be published. This paper therefore only summarizes the final conclusions of the study

Results of a comparison of radiative transfer models for simulating AIRS radiances

At the workshop for Soundings from High Spectral Resolution Observations in May 2003, an AIRS radiative transfer model comparison was proposed under the auspices of the ITWG. Results from 14 models have been submitted. The aim of the intercomparison was (i) to compare the forward model calculations for all AIRS channels from all models for 52 diverse profiles and one tropical Pacific profile coincident with AIRS data; (ii) to estimate forward model error covariances; (iii) to assess the jacobians from each model using a measure of fit for a limited selection of channels; and (iv) to document the time taken to run each model. Preliminary results of this inter-comparison are presented in this paper. For the forward model calculations most models agree to within 0.02K when compared to a reference model RFM. When compared with observations however the mean differences increase to 1K. For the jacobians all models have some profiles/channels that do not fit the RFM reference well