TOVSADNF: Global Atmospheric Profiles from NOAA-9 Satellite

TOVS Pathfinder Path A scheme uses a physical retrieval method from NOAA-9's HIRS2 and MSU instruments to produce 3D global fields of atmospheric temperature and moisture. The dataset also includes derived quantities like land/sea surface temperature, outgoing longwave radiation, cloud fraction, cloud top height, total ozone, and precipitation estimates. Its interactive forecast-retrieval-analysis cycle assimilates satellite retrievals with in-situ measurements like radiosonde reports every 6 hours.

Use Cases

• Analyzing global 3D temperature-moisture structure based on satellite retrievals
• Monitoring cloud fraction and cloud top height for climate modeling
• Estimating total ozone overburden from satellite-derived geophysical parameters
• Assimilating satellite data with in-situ measurements for weather forecasting
• Calculating land and sea surface temperature from HIRS2/MSU data

Strengths

• Derived from the physical retrieval method of Susskind et al. (1984), a recognized scientific technique
• Assimilates satellite data with in-situ measurements (e.g., radiosonde, ship reports) using an Optimal Interpolation scheme
• Produces a wide range of geophysical parameters including profiles, surface temperatures, radiation, and cloud properties

Limitations

• Metadata completeness is low: column names, row counts, and file sizes are unknown across all sources
• There is a conflict in freshness: one source lists a last updated date of 2026-04-09, while another lists 1987-01-01, suggesting inconsistent metadata maintenance

Provenance

Source

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

Collection Method

Physical retrieval from NOAA-9 satellite HIRS2 and MSU data, assimilated with in-situ measurements.

Freshness

2026-04-09 21:42:14.327911

Geography

Global