TOVSA5ND: Global Atmospheric Profiles from NOAA-12 Satellite

1994 data from the NOAA-12 satellite's TIROS Operational Vertical Sounder (TOVS) provides Level 3 geophysical parameters using the Path A physical retrieval scheme. It delivers global, 3-dimensional fields of atmospheric temperature, moisture, and derived quantities like surface temperature, cloud properties, and ozone. The dataset results from a 6-hour forecast-retrieval-analysis cycle that assimilates satellite retrievals with in-situ measurements.

Use Cases

• Analyzing historical global temperature and humidity profiles for climate trend studies.
• Validating modern reanalysis products or General Circulation Models against a physical retrieval baseline.
• Studying cloud fraction and cloud top height distributions on a global scale.
• Investigating total ozone overburden and outgoing longwave radiation from satellite observations.
• Examining the assimilation of satellite soundings with radiosonde and ship reports in a 6-hour synoptic cycle.

Strengths

• Derived from a well-documented physical retrieval method (Susskind et al., 1984) using a 20-channel HIRS2 and 4-channel MSU instrument.
• Provides a globally consistent, 3-dimensional view of the atmosphere's temperature-moisture structure.
• Assimilates satellite data with in-situ measurements via an Optimal Interpolation scheme, likely improving accuracy.

Limitations

• Metadata conflicts: last update date is listed as both 1994-06-30 and 2026-04 09, indicating potential platform synchronization issues.
• Critical metadata is missing: specific column names, row counts, and file sizes are unknown across all sources.
• The dataset is dependent on a specific hydrodynamic model and a priori data (Path A scheme), which may limit direct comparability with other retrieval methods.

Provenance

Source

Satellite Data Utilization Office of the Goddard Laboratory for Atmospheres at NASA/GSFC.

Collection Method

Physical retrieval from NOAA-12 satellite TOVS (HIRS2/MSU) data, processed via the Path A forecast-retrieval-analysis cycle with in-situ data assimilation.

Time Range

1994

Freshness

2026-04-09 21:30:29.084315

Geography

Global