Sounder SIPS: Suomi NPP CrIMSS Level 3 Specific Quality Control Gridded Daily CHART Normal Spectral Resolution V1

As with the Version-6.6 AIRS system, the CHART algorithm uses a Neural Network system as an initial guess. The sounding retrieval methodology characterizes the full atmospheric state and the retrievals contains a variety of geophysical parameters derived from the CrIMSS data. These include surface temperature and infrared emissivity; full atmosphere profiles of temperature, water vapor and ozone; infrared effective cloud top characteristics; outgoing longwave radiation (OLR); and an infrared-based precipitation estimate.

This daily one degree latitude by one degree longitude level-3 product starts with level-2 retrieval products applying profile level specific quality control (QC). Specific QC is defined per retrieved geophysical parameter at a given level within a profile. It accepts profile level data from the top of the atmosphere down to the level where the QC algorithm determines that the retrieval is good.

Below this level, the data is rejected. Specific QC is designed to maximize the yield of each variable. This is the same methodology used by the AIRS Version 6 processing system.

The CHART system was designed to serve as a seamless follow on to the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder/Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit (AIRS/AMSU) instrument processing system. For comparison, the AIRS/AMSU data collection AIRX3SPD contains similar meteorological information to this CHART data collection.