Polar Atmospheric Composition:

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Polar Atmospheric Composition Some Measurements
and Products A Report on Action item STG3-A11
Jeff Key NOAA/NESDIS
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Clouds
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AVHRR Polar Pathfinder extended (APP-x)

• Based on the NOAA/NASA AVHRR Polar Pathfinder
  data set from NSIDC
• Time period 1982 2004, 0400 1400 local
  solar time.
• Spatial scale 5 km, subsampled to 25 km over
  the entire Arctic and Antarctic
• Near real-time (once-daily) processing also
  running
• Parameters
• Surface temperature and albedo
• Cloud amount, phase, optical depth, particle
  size, temperature, pressure
• Surface and top-of-atmosphere shortwave and
  longwave fluxes cloud forcing

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NOAAs Operational AVHRR Cloud Product

• While advanced imagers such as VIIRS and ABI will
  provide significantly improved cloud remote
  sensing capabilities, the data from AVHRR and the
  GOES imagers provide our best current real-time
  cloud observing system from imager data.
• The Clouds from AVHRR Extended System (CLAVR-x)
  derives cloud properties from the AVHRR that are
  physically similar to those from MODIS, VIIRS and
  ABI and provide valuable experience to NOAAs
  customers that should increase the usage of cloud
  products during NPOESS and GOES-R.
• Similar algorithms to those used in CLAVR-x are
  run on GOES imager data and provide a consistent
  suite of cloud products to NOAAs customers at
  multiple spatial and temporal resolutions.

Example CLAVR-x Product at 55 km
Example CLAVR-x Product at 1 km
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AVHRR Pathfinder Atmospheres Extended (PATMOS-x)

• PATMOS-x is continuation of the NESDIS PATMOS
  program in the 1990s. The AVHRR is relevant
  sensor for climate given its long record,
  consistent spectral coverage and improving
  calibration.
• PATMOS-x offers new products at a higher
  resolution from improved data. Where PATMOS only
  offered cloud amount, PATMOS-x provides a full
  suite of cloud properties and selected clear-sky
  products.
• PATMOS-x products were developed to be physically
  consistent with those from EOS/MODIS. We are
  trying to achieve same consistency with
  NPOESS/VIIRS.
• PATMOS-x leverages heavily off of the
  development efforts already funded for real-time
  product generation (i.e. CLAVR-x)
• PATMOS-x speaks directly to the NOAA mission of
  Climate Variability

Example Year to Year Variation in High Cloud
Amount from PATMOS-x
(Andy Heidinger)
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Metop AVHRR Operational Clouds from NESDIS

• The Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer
  (AVHRR) on Metop, launched October 2006,
  provides global 1km data for the first time from
  an operational sensor.
• The Clouds from AVHRR Extended (CLAVR-x)
  processing system can generate 1 km cloud
  products (detection, type, height, and optical
  properties).
• CLAVR-x transitioned to operational status in May
  2007.
• Since then, global 1 km cloud properties have
  been produced operationally and made available to
  NESDIS customers.
• The images on the left show were generated from
  CLAVR-x output for August 2, 2006 from METOP-A
  FRAC data over Europe.
• The image on the left shows a false image using
  the 0.63, 0.86 and 11 mm observations.
• The image on the right shows the cloud optical
  depth. Values greater than 20 are shown as red.
  Small values are blue.
• Work is ongoing with EUMETSAT on METOP product
  validation and inter-comparison.

False Color Image using 0.63, 0.86 and 11 mm
observations from METOP-A
Derived Cloud Optical Thickness from CLAVR-x
(Andy Heidinger)
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MODIS Cloud Products Direct Broadcast and
Archived
In theory, the MODIS cloud detection scheme is
more robust than that for AVHRR, given more
spectral information with MODIS.
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Atmospheric Chemistry and Aerosols
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Atmospheric Composition and Aerosol Measurements

• Bromine (BrO) from OMI (on Aura) and GOME-2 (on
  MetOP)
• Total column ozone and NO2 from OMI (Aura) and
  GOME-2 (MetOP) (daytime)
• Tropospheric O3 and CO profiles from the
  Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer (TES)
• Tropospheric O3 and CO profiles from AIRS (Terra)
• Total column CO from MOPITT (Terra) and IASI
  (Metop)
• Stratospheric and upper tropospheric O3, CO, ClO,
  HCl, HNO3 and SO2    profiles from the Microwave
  Limb Sounder (MLS) (Aura)
• Stratospheric O3, NO2, and aerosol extinction
  from Optical Spectrograph and Infrared Imager
  System (OSIRIS) on the Canadian ODIN satellite
• A suite of molecules (including
  O3,CH4,N2O,NO2,NO,HNO3,HCl,HF,CO) from the
  Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment (ACE) FTS
  onboard the Canadian SCISAT-1 satellite
• Stratospheric O3 profiles from SBUV2 (daytime)
• Total column measurements of O3, NO2, OC1O, H2CO,
  Br0 from SCIAMACHY on ENVISAT
• Stratospheric profile measurements of O3, NO2,
  BrO, H2O, N2O,CO, CH4 from SCIAMACHY on ENVISAT.
• Aerosol attenuated backscatter from CALIPSO
• Aerosol Optical Depth from MODIS and MISR
  (daytime, no ice/snow)

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Total vertical column bromine (BrO) observations
from OMI (on Aura) and GOME-2 (on MetOP) for
2359Z and 1530Z (24-hr averages) on April 8,
2008. Arctic boundary layer BrO enhancements lead
rapid ozone loss within the Arctic boundary layer.
OMI data provided by Thomas Kurosu,
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophys. GOME-2
data provided by Trevor Beck, NOAA/NESDIS
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Winds and Soundings
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Polar Winds from MODIS and AVHRR
MODIS bent-pipe, MODIS direct broadcast, Terra
Aqua separately and combined AVHRR GAC, HRPT,
NOAA MetOp (with EUMETSAT) satellites
historical GAC
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Soundings from TOVS Path-P

• Arctic TOVS-derived Level-3 atmospheric
  parameters are obtained using a
  physical-statistical retrieval method, improved
  for use in sea ice-covered areas (J. Francis).
  Parameters
• Air temperature
• Effective cloud amount/frequency
• Cloud top pressure
• Cloud top temperature
• Cloud emissivity
• Precipitable Water
• Skin temperature
• Surface air temperature
• Wind stress
• Period
• NH 1979 2005
• SH 1979 2001
• (no retrievals for land gt 1000 m elev)

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Hyperspectral Global Soundings
Global hyperspectral atmospheric soundings are
available from NASAs AIRS instrument and
EUMETSATs IASI. These should improve soundings
in the polar regions, particularly in the lower
troposphere where temperature inversions are
common.
NAST-I spectrum over Oklahoma, 3 March 2000.