TOVSAMND: Atmospheric Profiles from NOAA-12 Satellite

TOVSAMND contains Level 3 geophysical parameters derived from NOAA-12 satellite data using the Path A physical retrieval method. The dataset provides global 3D fields of atmospheric temperature and moisture, plus derived quantities like surface temperature, outgoing radiation, cloud fraction, and ozone. The data is produced through a 6-hour forecast-retrieval-analysis cycle that assimilates satellite retrievals with in-situ measurements.

Use Cases

• Analyzing global 3D temperature-moisture structure based on HIRS2/MSU satellite retrievals.
• Estimating land and sea surface temperature from derived geophysical parameters.
• Studying cloud properties and radiative fluxes using calculated cloud fraction and outgoing longwave radiation.
• Assessing total ozone overburden and precipitation estimates from the Path A retrieval scheme.
• Validating atmospheric models with assimilated data combining satellite soundings and radiosonde reports.

Strengths

• Derived from a specific physical retrieval method (Susskind et al., 1984) and a defined processing chain (Path A).
• Assimilates satellite data with in-situ measurements (e.g., radiosondes) using an Optimal Interpolation scheme.
• Provides multiple derived geophysical parameters including profiles, surface properties, and cloud metrics.

Limitations

• Specific row count, size, and column details are unknown across all sources.
• Sources show conflicting last updated dates (1998-11-30 and 2026-04-09), indicating potential metadata inconsistency.
• The retrieval method is dependent on hydrodynamic models and a priori data, which may introduce model-specific biases.

Provenance

Source

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

Collection Method

Physical retrieval from NOAA-12 HIRS2 and MSU instruments, processed through a forecast-retrieval-analysis cycle.

Freshness

2026-04-09 21:30:33.298289

Geography

Global